Regan Slater admits he's thankful to new Hull City head coach Ruben Selles for giving the players time off on Christmas Day to spend with their families, but joked seeing everybody else enjoy the festive luxuries will be a tough watch.

The Spaniard is keen to foster a positive working environment for his squad, and changing the players' schedule has been key to that, and one of those changes has been to relax the expectations ahead of their Boxing Day trip to Preston North End.

City's players will train on Christmas Eve but be given time and space to enjoy the festivities on December 25 before meeting up later in the day to travel to Lancashire in preparation for the traditional Boxing Day fixture, looking to back up their fine 2-1 win success over Swansea City on Saturday.

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This year, there will be no home comforts for the Tigers, who will tackle fellow strugglers Preston at Deepdale in the first of two away trips to Lancashire before the year ends, with a visit to Blackburn Rovers to come on December 29 to round off 2024.

"We all stay disciplined but I'd be lying if I said I weren't jealous of everyone while they're off enjoying it and whatnot, but that's just part of what we do isn't it," the midfielder joked in conversation with Hull Live.

"They're the sacrifices that you make, and hopefully, they'll be worth it. I'll just be round at my mum's, have a little dinner, and carb up, and that's me really.

"I think it's important that we get to spend time with our family. It's a special time of the year, especially for the boys with kids and little ones. It's nice for them to see the kids opening presents and things that they might miss out on if we are in (training), so it's good."