KINGSTON UPON HULL, England (CMC):

Phil Brown has reassured Marlon King that his immediate future with the club is secure.

Brown is coach of English Premiership club Hull City and he was speaking ahead of the club's big clash today on the road against table leaders Liverpool.

His comments also come following the arrest and bail of the Jamaican striker, after he was accused of assaulting a woman in a London bar.

"He has had a problem last weekend which is under police inquiry and it would be wrong of us to talk about it," Brown said. "But where Marlon is concerned, he has trained all week and has come in, in good spirits. As long as that continues he will continue to play the football that he is playing."

The 28-year-old King has scored five goals for the northern England club, after being signed on a one-year loan agreement, but Brown is still not prepared to commit the Tigers to a contract past this.

"Marlon is on a year-long loan," he said. "That could be made more permanent in January, but I think that would be a foolish move from our point of view.

Year-long loan

"He is pulling up trees at the moment because of the fact he is on a year-long loan.

"Hopefully, come the end of the season, we can secure him on a permanent move, depending on the amount of goals and how well he has played for us."

Hull have made a huge impression in their first stab at the Premiership. They are sixth in the table ahead of the trip to Anfield and Brown acknowledges that they have overachieved.

"It is a million miles an hour and a great platform to play on and that brings its problems," Brown said. "But where the players are concerned at this football club, their feet are still on the ground and we are going to go to Liverpool with that kind of mentality and attitude to hopefully get something from the game."

Founded in 1904, the highest position Hull have finished in the English Football League was third in the old Division 1 in 1909-10, a feat they repeated in 2007-08, when they gained promotion from The Championship by beating Bristol City 1-0 in the play-off at Wembley Stadium.

Their greatest achievement in cup competitions came in 1930, when the team reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup.