Steve Bruce blocks move for defender

Crystal Palace have been linked with a move for the 29-year-old defender, who has two years left on his contract.

But head coach Bruce said: “That's not going to happen at the moment. We're playing with three centre-backs, and, with (Florian) Lejeune out, if I let him out, we'd only have four. So that's not going to happen. I've explained the situation to Ciaran, who understands totally, so no, that won't happen."

Clark came off the bench in last night’s 3-1 win over Hibernian at Easter Road. New signing Joelinton was among the scorers.

“We started a bit sloppily, but for the first hour I thought some of the stuff we played was excellent and we were a threat,” said Bruce. “I was very, very pleased with their intensity, and the way they played.”