Hull City boss Phil Brown is refusing to panic despite the defeat at the Stadium Of Light leaving his charges only 3 points off the relegation zone.

 

The team that hit the dizzy heights so early in the season have seemingly been in freefall since just before Christmas but Brown is adamant that the Tigers have what it takes to see a second year of premier League football played at the KC. "We're not in the bottom three, and if that continues between now and the end of the season we'll be fine. That's obvious," he said, "Today, there was a committed performance. If we get that next week and for the next five games I'll be happy."

Brown found himself in yet an other war of words, this time with black cats boss Ricky Sbragia, after claiming that Sunderland shouldn’t be in the relegation dogfight because of all the money they‘ve spent. It may have been a tactic that backfired and inspired the opposition but Brown did not turn the direction of his wrath towards referee Mike Dean who allowed Cisse’s effort to stand despite looking suspiciously offside.