Pearson hails Dowie courage for swapping TV sofa for Hull job

Hull City chairman Adam Pearson has praised Iain Dowie's courage for swapping the TV sofa for the job at the KC.

Dowie was due to commentate on a Spanish game in their London studios this week. Instead, he will be in charge of Hull against doomed bottom side Portsmouth and Dowie, who was part of the Alan Shearer management team which failed to rescue Newcastle United from relegation a year ago, has nine games to earn a £500,000 bonus for keeping Hull in the top flight.

But Paul Jewell, Mark Hughes, Gareth Southgate and Alan Curbishley were among the names Pearson approached in the last week who decided not to return to management.

Pearson said: "There is a danger we will lose more young managers to TV. They are British managers and we need to encourage them.

"I read with interest some of the people who had turned the job down who I had not even spoken to and I see most of them on Sky.

"Iain has been brave enough to come off Sky and put his reputation on the line for nine games and try to turn around a situation that doesn't look too bright at the minute. For that, and having that strength of character, I take my hat off to him.

"We are not really looking for a manager with a "wow" factor or a manager with an ego or reputation to look after.

"I understand supporters want big names but we wanted a manager who would interact with the players straight away, make tweaks to change unlucky defeats into points.

"We'd all like Jose Mourinho to walk out of that tunnel but he probably doesn't want to walk out of that tunnel. He is probably quite happy in Milan. We have got a manager who fits the bill for what we need."