HULL, England — Mike Phelan was hired Thursday as the permanent manager of Hull, taking over the fulltime job after serving on an interim basis for the first seven games of the Premier League season.

Hull said Phelan is the full-time replacement for Steve Bruce, who left the club before the start of the season. The length of Phelan's deal wasn't disclosed.

The 54-year-old Phelan, a former assistant coach at Manchester United under Alex Ferguson, led Hull to back-to-back victories to open its Premier League campaign. The team hasn't won since.

"It has taken time but things have to be done correctly with these matters," Phelan said.

Hull, which is back in the Premier League after one season in the League Championship, is up for sale but Egyptian owner Assem Allam hasn't been able to find a buyer, with talks with a Chinese consortium breaking down in September.