Hull City boss gives verdict on Sorba Thomas and Brooke Norton-Cuffy debuts

City signed six on deadline day this week but only four were named in the squad against Villa and just two got on the field, with Sorba Thomas and Brooke Norton-Cuffy stepping off the bench midway through the second half.

Norton-Cuffy overlapped well after coming on for Lewie Coyle, while he managed to wrap up Alejandro Garnacho without too much trouble at all.

Thomas on the other hand had the pace and strength to latch onto balls, kickstarting breaks and carrying City up the field. He could have marked his bow with an assist, too, but Oli McBurnie couldn't turn his cross home in the dying embers of the contest.

"Lewie Coyle didn't train the full week so we tried to put more energy and more speed with Cuffy and also Sorba Thomas instead of Elliot," Jakirovic said on when asked for his verdict on the new additions. "I think he brought a lot of energy, a lot of good solutions, decisions, some great crosses to Oli. We tried on the last day to add the quality we needed and I think that will help the team."

Jens Hjerto-Dahl, Lucas Herrington and Mohamed-Ali Cho also came off the bench during the second half, with new additions Robinio Vaz and Christos Mouzakitis watching the game from the bench alongside Matt Targett, who has hardly been used since joining on a free transfer.

What's clear though, is that Jakirovic has the ability to change a game off the bench and that will come in handy as the campaign gathers pace.

The head coach added: "It's a very long season, we have more options now, just maybe the problem is with Mendy because I am using one substitution that maybe I could use in the attack. But OK, I have to be ready for every scenario."