Hull City boss Phil Brown has no regrets cutting short the loan of Wigan Athletic striker Marlon King in midseason.

The Tigers will now face King and Middlesbrough this weekend and Brown said: "I think the reason we let him go was because he wasn't bringing to the table what he brought to the table at the start of the season. It is as simple as that.

"The situation moved on; we moved forward fairly quickly - and Wigan moved forward fairly quickly. Middlesbrough acted upon it, and the rest is history. I don't know what Marlon's record is since he's gone up there, but he hasn't played regularly for them. Would he have played regularly for us? He wasn't in the team when he left, so the answer is probably no."

King has scored just once since his January move to Boro and was an unused substitute in last week's defeat by Bolton.

Brown admits King will have a point to prove, but the City manager sees that as a minor issue compared to the points at stake.

Hull are just five points above the bottom three - while Boro are in even greater danger, sitting 19th in the table.

Brown added: "I think every time players cross the white line, if they have got anything about them, will have a point to prove. The game is not about Marlon King or me - it is about Hull City getting three points. If Marlon King stands in our way, he's got to bring his best game to the table.

"Whether they start with (Afonso) Alves and Tuncay (Sanli), whether Marlon King is on the bench, it doesn't matter. Whatever team they put out, they'll be fighting for their lives. We have to make sure we keep that quiet, we choke it as much as we can, keep a lid on it and play some football.

"If we get those things right we've got a chance of winning the game."