Hull City midfielder George Boateng insists Phil Brown's halftime dressing down on the pitch at Manchester City earlier this season did not cause their form slide.

"I am not going to lie," said Boateng. "It was my first experience of having a meeting on the pitch and at half-time and I have been in the Premier League for a decade.

"It only affected us for a couple of games but, because we didn't get a much-needed win or point, losing started to become a habit.

"Slowly your confidence starts getting less and less and then it is very difficult to get a win.

"But I hope that, whatever happens on Sunday, people don't use that as an excuse to criticise Phil Brown.

"We have had 20 games after that and surely as a team you would think it cannot affect you."