Hull City’s fortunes on-and-off the pitch have steadily deteriorated since the belated publication of their 2007/2008 accounts, which predict a grim financial 12 months for the Tigers.   Manager Phil Brown has been under tremendous pressure after a run of appalling results over the last 12 months. The run continued with a misfortune-strewn 2-0 defeat at Burnley last Saturday.   The Tigers went behind to the softest of first-half penalties and were denied an equaliser through Geovanni’s magnificent free-kick when the referee penalised a minor infringement in the wall. The Brazilian was later sent-off after being booked for dissent.

Brown is now sharing the tremendous pressure with departed chairman Phil Duffen, whose fiscal policy during his tenure is coming under close scrutiny from his successor, Adam Pearson. Pearson was also Duffen’s predecessor before selling the Tigers in 2007 and spending two not conspicuously successful years at Championship strugglers Derby County.

City’s accounts were five months late, due to disputes with independent auditors, Deloitte LLP, over the wording. The accounts reveal why there were such delays.

They contained the stark warning, repeated in three separate sections, that Hull “need to generate a surplus of £23m during the next 12 months through player-trading, matchday and commercial income and/or through additional finance raising.”

They added that financial variables, such as money raised by player-trading, “represent a material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt over the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”

The accounts also detail a number of loans between companies belonging to Hull’s owner, property investor Russell Bartlett, and a £22m temporary gift from investment bank, Investec, which is due for repayment in July 2010.

In the wake of all this, chairman Paul Duffen succumbed to pressure to resign, claiming that “the buck stops with the guy at the top…I don’t see why football club executives shouldn’t be accountable.” Bartlett was unavailable for comment.   One of Pearson’s first actions was to order an analysis of all transfer dealings during Duffen’s tenure.   Pearson expressed concerns that the club’s wage bill had rocketed to nearly £40m, while agents had benefited to the tune of £5.5m from Hull’s largesse, £0.5m reportedly to one agency, who handled midfielder Jimmy Bullard’s club record £5m move from Fulham in January.

Both clubs will benefit from sell-on clauses and expressed concerns that the supposedly £12m-rated defender moved north for a fraction of that amount.

Pearson vehemently denied any wrongdoing, claiming that Hull only received “£2.8m” for the player, as part of a £3.5m deal.

On Phil Brown’s future, Pearson confirmed he would be in charge when Hull host Stoke on Sunday “but we’ll have to see what happens over the next couple of weeks.”

Good news for Brown is that Bullard came through a Wednesday training session without aggravating his recent shin injury. A “source close to” Bullard said: “he should be fine to start against Stoke.”