Hull City manager Phil Brown led calls last weekend for EPL players at the African Cup of Nations to be withdrawn in the wake of the gun attack on the Togolese national team in Angola’s Cabinda province.   His pleas were ignored, and his motivations questioned by colleagues. And, at the tournament, Hull striker Daniel Cousens, who is expected to join Championship side QPR on-loan when he returns from Angola, captained his Gabon team to a historic victory over continental powerhouses Cameroon, scoring the only goal of the game.   Meanwhile, Hull City chairman Adam Pearson last week issued another stark warning on the state of the club’s finances, just as the January transfer window opened. He said that the club would be unsaleable while its debts remained at their current high levels.

The FA Cup will not be providing the Tigers with any relief, however, financial or otherwise.

Phil Brown’s men crashed out 4-1 at Wigan in the third round two weekends ago, in front of a dismal 5,000 crowd, denying them prize money and a share of any significant gate receipts.

Brown’s call for the return of the Tigers’ two players at the African Cup of Nations went unheeded as Cousen and Nigeria’s Seyi Olofinjana joined the rest of the players in participating in the tournament, one of the biggest on the international football calendar.

Brown had said: “I have two players on duty (in Angola) and I want them home. You cannot put the safety of players, officials and fans at the slightest risk. This throws a question mark against next summer’s World Cup.”

His last remark drew a stinging retort from World Cup chief Danny Jordaan, who said: “I found that very extraordinary. He is not well-informed.”

And Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger questioned the motives of Brown and others on the issue, saying: “If clubs call their players back, you wonder if it is a selfish motivation.”

Meanwhile, Adam Pearson last week said in a BBC Humberside interview that Hull City was not “saleable” in its current financial state. He said: “When you are bottom of the league and your overheads are so high I just can’t imagine anyone (coming in).”

And he echoed previous warnings when he added: “The wage bill is £8m to £9m, which is far too high for this football club. We’re losing money every month which means we need to keep borrowing to keep up now. That obviously, long-term, needs to be sorted out.”

The Tigers have slapped a £7m price tag on Irish international midfielder Stephen Hunt, who has been the subject of interest from fellow Premier League strugglers Wolves, managed by former Ireland boss Mick McCarthy.

Wolves are reportedly prepared to offer £3.5m for the £35,000-per-week man, who cost that amount when he moved to the KC Stadium from Reading last summer.

But a club statement said: “(We are) becoming bored of continual speculation surrounding his future and would like to place on record that the player is not for sale.”