Steve Bruce will resist the temptation to shackle the attacking instincts of his Hull City side as they bid to upset Premier League champions Manchester City at the KC Stadium this afternoon.
•Hull City v Man City team news
A new season has witnessed the Tigers playing with a sharper edge in the final third and, five games in, no side has yet managed to keep Bruce's men at bay.
The flip-side to those improvements has seen City vulnerable in defence since winning 1-0 at QPR on the opening day of the season, and in three of the last four league games points have been surrendered from winning positions.
With the ominous threat of Manchester City in town today, Bruce would be forgiven for battening down the hatches but he insists the onus must be on his side to cause problems.
Asked if he would rein his side in, Bruce said: "No, I still think you've got to cause them a threat. We kept a clean-sheet when we won our first game of the season and it's so vitally important that we find the right balance.
"Last year I think we took four points off the top eight. We played very well against them but we still got beaten. We're only 14 months into the Premier League and we're disappointed that we didn't beat Newcastle last week (when drawing 2-2).
"We've got to make sure we find that resilience again and that concentration. No coach or manager can put their point across when individuals are making errors."
Despite the bullish notes sounded by Bruce, a change in formation is under consideration for today's game.
The 4-4-2 shape utilised in the 2-2 draws with West Ham United and Newcastle United had its strengths with a midfield diamond but the attack-minded full-backs Ahmed Elmohamady and Andy Robertson occasionally left City exposed at the back.
Slotting James Chester into defence alongside Curtis Davies and Michael Dawson would enable Elmohamady and Robertson to fill wing-back slots in a 3-5-2 shape, a formation that helped City keep 10 clean-sheets in the Premier League last term.
Bruce gave little away when pressed on how he might line up against Manuel Pellegrini's men but stressed the focus had to first be on maintaining concentration throughout.
"If I could find the secret and bottle it, I'd put it on the training ground right in front of you," said Bruce.
"We can look at systems and who we play but against West Brom we concede from a throw-in and a corner, which drives me nuts. We conceded against Newcastle with elementary mistakes.
"If we can get rid of those we'll certainly be better but it's very difficult to just blame your back four.
"We've got to really tune in as a team. My growing thinking is that we've got to concentrate more to see it through.
"We've got to get the balance right. We could have been sitting here quite easily top of the league or certainly right up there. That's annoying."
City sit 10th in the Premier League with six points, three behind the visitors from the Etihad Stadium.
