Hull City boss Phil Brown has told Dean Windass he still has a role to play with the Tigers.

Brown said: "I haven't spoken to Dean, but I spoke to his agent at length yesterday and we see eye to eye.

"I know exactly how Dean Windass thinks, how he feels. Rightly so, he is not happy, but I wouldn't expect him to be. If I have got a player walking around as the 20th man, 24-25th man, and they are happy, I'd be questioning why.

"But in terms of commitment, every time he goes out on the training field, he is one million percent. In terms of selection, if I threw him in tomorrow, he'd be one million percent.

"But he has a part to play off the park, and that's a leadership quality you only get in certain people. He has to understand he still has a part to play."

Brown has brought in 13 new players since the summer and he accepts he is going to have difficulties keeping all his squad happy.

However, he insists he has not written off any of last season's promotion heroes and wants them to stay and fight for their places.

He added: "If Dean Windass wanted to leave this football club, that would be his decision not mine. I am not forcing anybody out of the door.

"There is interest in a number of players. I'll always suggest it to the player, I'll always give my advice, but I am not forcing anybody out because of what I said at the end of last season, that I'm going to give everybody a chance.

"I think the most important part of a manager's job is to communicate with his players. If he doesn't then problems will occur but I'll sit down and talk to anybody. Any player can come in and ask where they stand. My door will always be open."