Holden on squad rotation, transfer business and Stoke cup tie

Hull City assistant manager Dean Holden has been speaking to the media before Tuesday's Carabao Cup game against Stoke City at bet365 Stadium (kick-off 19:45 BST). Here are the key lines from his news conference: Holden said Nobel Mendy, Semi Ajayi and Lewie Coyle, who were forced off against Manchester United , had cramp so it's "not as bad as first feared". He said that trio and Ryan Giles will be assessed on Monday to "see how they shape up" for Tuesday. Summer signing Hidemasa Morita "will get some minutes" after recovering from injury and there are expected to be several changes to the starting XI. On squad rotation: "The timing couldn't be better because there are players that need minutes. It's an ideal opportunity to try to get them up to speed and a chance to show what they're made of." He said "staying in the Premier League will be the number one priority" this season, but they still "want to win every game so will go with that mindset as well". On Stoke City: "We expect them to come right at us. Will Mark [Robins] make fewer changes off the back of two defeats? Who knows. That can play into the mind to get a good result to make confidence high. They will be chasing that result." Holden says he doesn't know anything about the link with Stoke winger Sorba Thomas, but added: "We are obviously looking to bring in quality to add to what we've already got in the forward positions. Hopefully, we can get some business done in the next week." On Saturday's victory over Manchester United: "What a performance. What a result. It gets us off to a flying start. Not just the result, but the performance itself." Got a question about Hull? Get in touch here and we'll seek answers from our experts [BBC]