Former Hull City chairman Paul Duffen has been accused by the club of using company finances for his own personal ends during his tenure in the KC Stadium.   Duffen was in London’s High Court last Friday to deny the allegations at a preliminary hearing ahead of a trial, a date for which will presently be set.   Manager Phil Brown, currently working under a wage bill cap introduced by Duffen’s successor Adam Pearson, has brought in Egyptian striker Amr Zaki on-loan.

But Brown will have to divest the club of some attacking talent, including Caleb Folan and the unsettled Daniel Cousin, as he seeks to cut the wage bill by £9m.

On the pitch, Hull’s Boaz Myhill produced the goalkeeping performance of a lifetime to earn his side a precious point at Tottenham.

Inevitably, he couldn’t match those heroics at Manchester United, as City crashed to a four-nil defeat, all goals coming from the irrepressible Wayne Rooney.

Hull remain second from bottom in the EPL, a point from safety.

City announced last week that they were instigating legal proceedings against Duffen “to protect the commercial best interests of the football club, against the actions undertaken by Paul Duffen while in office.”

A club statement said that they believed Duffen “acted in breach of his employment contracts and fiduciary duties as a director” by “use of company monies for his own personal expenditure and other wrongdoings” and “through the payment of certain monies by third-party football agents to Mr. Duffen’s services company.”

Duffen strenuously denied the allegations and countered by giving an exclusive interview with the Daily Express newspaper, in which he claimed: “This is in response to legal action initiated by me in early December with regard to monies that are owed to me under the agreed terms of my resignation in October.”

Pearson succeeded Duffen and within a few days had brought in auditors to inspect the club’s books after his initial investigations revealed what he considered to be a “lack of control” over the club’s finances since he ended his first spell as chairman in 2007.

Under Duffen, Hull subsequently won promotion to, and avoided relegation from, the EPL.

Club owner, property ‘investor’ Russell Bartlett has remained silent this week.

Manager Brown has signed former Wigan striker Amr Zaki on-loan from Egyptian side El Zamalek until the end of the season.

He had a troubled spell at Wigan last season, which Pearson acknowledged when he said: “There’s obviously a risk element…but we feel the boy has something to prove and hopefully we’ll see a hungry player.

Zaki looks likely to be a replacement for Daniel Cousin who has recently been quoted as saying that the relationship between himself and “Phil Brown, the gaffer” has broken down, making it “difficult for me to stay in Hull.

Hull host fellow strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers in the EPL tomorrow (Saturday). Zaki is set to make his debut but Jimmy Bullard’s return from his latest injury looks set to be delayed for another game.