The Tigers' preparations for today's Premier League long trip to Portsmouth have been hampered by being without nine of their star players for most of the week.

Some returned to the club on Thursday but the likes of Marlon King and Richard Garcia, who were playing in Jamaica and Bahrain, respectively, were only reunited with their team-mates at the club's hotel on the south coast yesterday.

As proud as he is of the players' international standing, Brown admits the build-up to the trip to Fratton Park has been dominated by the logistics of getting his team back together again.

He said: "Truth be known, the two international breaks so far, before this week, have been God-sends to us.

"We didn't finish our season until May 24 so we need those periods to rest, recuperate and recharge. After the two previous breaks we have done well.

"The next full break (in March) will be two weeks and we will use that, too. This one has been a little different in that it has been a friendly, not a qualifier. But I haven't complained so far, so I won't now.

"I will say, though, it is nice for them to be out of the way until well into the New Year. The next one when it comes round will be a fortnight and we will utilise that to the best of our ability.

"This one has been a bit of a spanner in the works but it will be the same for Portsmouth. There will be a host of international players coming out of their dressing room (at Fratton Park)."

The number of internationals in the City squad is a sign of just how far the club have come even since last season when just Welsh duo Sam Ricketts and Boaz Myhill were involved at the highest level of the game.

They were both in action again this week as Wales won in Denmark, while the other Hull players to be called up were Peter Halmosi (Hungary), Kamil Zayatte (Guinea), King (Jamaica), Garcia (Australia) Tony Warner (Trinidad & Tobago) plus Republic of Ireland duo Paul McShane and Caleb Folan. Daniel Cousin was called up by Gabon but could not travel due to a knee injury.

Brown said: "Some will have travelled 11 or 12 hours on a flight and will only have had five or six hours sleep.

"So, it will be as much about their mental state as their ability. And that will play a part in team selection.

"Confidence levels will play a big part, too. Marlon King has travelled a long way but he will be confident because he scored in a 3-0 win against Canada that was probably a shock result.

"There will be others though who played in a game they were expected to win but didn't, ie Ireland (who lost 3-2 at home to Poland). It is a balancing act and a good learning curve for me in terms of getting to know my individual players a little better.

"It is my job to improve the likes of Caleb Folan, Paul McShane and Peter Halmosi, who played a full game for Hungary out of position."