Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate hailed his players after their crucial 3-1 victory over Hull City.

Marlon King, who left Hull after falling out with manager Phil Brown in January, capped a fine performance with the decisive third goal two minutes from time.

Tuncay Sanli and homegrown product Matthew Bates were also on target either side of a Manucho equaliser.

Southgate said: "I thought our work ethic was brilliant today.

"We had to be men, we had to stand up and answer some questions that were being posed internally and thrown at us externally.

"We have give ourselves hope now. We are still in there fighting and you just never know.

"The reason it was a must-win game was because of the impact it would have on the other teams at the bottom, Hull being one of them.

"It was a crucial win and I think the players deserved it."

The win was only Boro's second in 20 games and revived hope of beating the drop.

Southgate added: "If the season ends tomorrow we are down, so we have less to lose now.

"We are looking upwards. Can we get back into the race? Possibly we have now.

"There is still a huge amount to do but maybe other teams have got something to lose and, frankly, we haven't."