Swans clash is a cup final for City

It is, of course, a familiar cliche for bosses to fall back on when battling the drop but December is an early first outing for the phrase.

It is not hard to see where Bruce's sense of urgency has come from though, with a sequence of one Barclays Premier League victory in the last 14 matches dragging the Tigers to second bottom in the table.

A costly habit of conceding late goals, an apparent loss of solidity at the KC Stadium and an increasingly threadbare squad - ravaged by injury, suspension and Hatem Ben Arfa's lack of dedication - make for an unhappy blend.

And it is one Bruce knows must be changed sooner rather than later.

"This one's a cup final if we really want to put it down to that," said Bruce, who guided the club to last season's FA Cup showpiece at Wembley.

"It's a big game for us and a big opportunity. We've got to get a result, it's as simple as that. We've had an awful run of fixtures, with some awful injuries to go with it, but we have to forget about what's happened before and pick up a few points to get our season back up and running.

"It's a big, important time for us but there are a lot of clubs in the bottom half who'll be saying the same thing."

There is, then, no doubt that Bruce is taking Hull's predicament seriously.

But despite the straits they find themselves in, with Michael Dawson out for a month, question marks over Mohamed Diame's return to fitness and Tom Huddlestone starting a four-game suspension, Bruce remains optimistic.

"It's so close at the bottom and we know we're capable of winning a couple of games, so I don't think there's any need to panic yet," he said.

"It's been a frustrating season so far. We haven't won enough games and we've probably drawn too many but I'm still convinced there's enough quality in the squad to see it through and finish higher than last year (16th).

"Away from home our tally is more than respectable considering who we've played so it's about time we put our home record straight. We have two games in a week at home and it's a different complexion if we can go and get something out of those games."

There have been reports that the Tigers will be looking to offload out-of-favour striker Yannick Sagbo in the January transfer window, while defender Paul McShane is also understood to be unhappy with his lack of playing time.

But with Bruce short on numbers he seems more likely to recall Tom Ince and Maynor Figueroa from respective loans at Cardiff and Wigan than send anyone else out of the door.

"I've only got 16, 17 players at the moment that are fit and eligible for Swansea, so unless it's a ridiculous offer that comes in I'm not really inviting any offers for any player we've got signed up," he said.

"At this particular moment we need every player we can get out there."