The £5m club-record signing at last got his Tigers career up and running by making his long-awaited home debut in last weekend's dramatic 2-1 win over 10-man Stoke in the Barclays Premier League.

And the 31-year-old's impact was immediate as he proved the driving force behind a result much needed by under-pressure manager Phil Brown.

Bullard has spent most of the year on the sidelines with a knee injury since joining the club in January and is now determined to make up for lost time.

He said: "I couldn't wait to get my boots on. I didn't sleep great, I kept waking up, but I finally got there and enjoyed every minute of it.

"As soon as I set foot on the pitch I felt at home.

"I enjoyed it from setting foot on the field for the first warm-up. I loved it, to come out to that ovation.

"It's been a long time, it killed me, and being at a new club probably made it twice as hard.

"But I've come here to play football and I've done that. To step foot on that field was brilliant for me.

"I remember looking up about the 82nd-minute mark and I was flagging. I thought he (Brown) could have given me a tug then but I'm glad he didn't."

Bullard played the full game and had a hand in Hull's late winner as his long-range shot was pushed out by Thomas Sorensen and fired in by Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.

While the Dutchman ran to supporters, Bullard celebrated by rushing in the opposite direction to embrace physio Simon Maltby and his assistant Liam McGarry.

"I came here and got injured in my first game, an absolute nightmare start," said Bullard, who played for just 37 minutes against West Ham in January before undergoing surgery.

"Every player will tell you when you have a long-term injury, you always have a right-hand man with you. Every day I was in touch with him (Maltby). I was closer to him than I was to my missus at some points!

"There were a lot of bad times but he has been absolutely brilliant, so has Liam. I owe those two loads, so I just thought I'd show my appreciation and give them a cuddle."

Hull, who went into the game 19th in the table and with the threat of the sack hanging over Brown, looked to be heading for another damaging defeat early in the second half.

Matthew Etherington had hit Hull with a superb goal on the counter-attack and the hosts were fortunate not to go 2-0 down when Anthony Gardner almost turned into his own net.

Somehow goalkeeper Matt Duke managed to keep out Gardner's unfortunate touch and moments later former Stoke midfielder Seyi Olofinjana struck a superb equaliser.

Ryan Shawcross hit the bar for Stoke but Tony Pulis' men were left hanging on after Abdoulaye Faye was sent off for two bookable offences and Vennegoor of Hesselink had the final word.

Pulis bemoaned his side's failure to win away for a third time this season after holding a lead and was also unhappy with the sending-off.
He did, however, pay tribute to Olofinjana, who left the Britannia Stadium in a £3m deal in the summer.

The Nigerian fell down the Potters' pecking order after starting their first 13 games last season.

Pulis said: "He's a fantastic kid, I'm really pleased for him.
"He's a real genuine kid, one of the nicest people I have met in football, a top lad.

"Seyi scored a great goal but for the second goal Thomas most probably should have done better."

Meanwhile, Hull captain Ian Ashbee has signed a new one-year deal at the KC Stadium.

Ashbee, currently sidelined with a serious leg injury, would have been out of contract at the end of the season but is is now committed to the club until 2011.

The news may raise eyebrows given concerns over Ashbee's fitness and the recent publication of alarming financial figures.
But in pointing out the agreement was concluded on October 9, the club have made clear it pre-dated the accounts revelations and the resignation of former chairman Paul Duffen.

Ashbee, 33, is unlikely to play again until March at the earliest after undergoing major surgery on a career-threatening bone condition for a second time.

The midfielder was found to have suffered a recurrence of a problem first encountered in 2005 whilst undergoing a routine operation on a knee injury sustained in May.

He consequently underwent a complicated operation in the United States which involved drilling holes in his femur to stimulate bone growth.

A club statement added: "Ian continues to work hard in his
rehabilitation from a cruciate ligament injury and we look forward to seeing him back on the pitch as soon as possible."

Ashbee joined Hull in 2002 and has played for the club in all four
professional divisions.