Hull lost 2-1 at home to Stoke City and find themselves on the verge of an immediate return to the Championship. Tigers boss Phil Brown is still confident his side can avoid the drop despite going eight games without a win

He said: I'm still confident and still believing and my job this week is helping the players to keep the faith.

"Trying to maintain self-belief is the most difficult part of the job and we'll be wanting a draw (between Newcastle and Middlesbrough) on Monday."

City's final two games are at Bolton and a home clash with Premier League champions-elect Manchester United.

Brown admitted: "Now it's a must-win game for us at the Reebok.

"We need something from both our remaining games."

Andy Dawson's injury-time free-kick was a mere consolation for the home side, but Brown said: "I thought we played some decent stuff in the first half and did enough to get our noses in front.

"They had two chances and scored twice but I think the difference between the sides was in the quality of their strikers and the nerves out there.

"The second goal killed us and then it was a case of too little, too late for us"