No panic button time for Duffen

Chairman Phil Duffen is refusing to panic after Hull's recent heavy defeats and he backed Phil Brown's on-pitch team-talk at Man City.

Duffen has spoken out after watching the Tigers follow up a 4-1 home defeat to Sunderland on December 20 with a 5-1 thrashing at Manchester City on Boxing Day. That prompted the manager's decision to conduct his half-time team-talk on the field at Eastlands in front of the visiting fans as the players' dismal opening 45-minute display saw them trailing 4-0 at the break.

However, ahead of Tuesday's visit of Champions League-chasers Aston Villa to the KC Stadium, Duffen praised Brown's decision-making and is confident they will get back to winning ways on a regular basis after just one victory in the last 10 games.

He told the Daily Star: "I think what happened at Manchester City goes to show how Phil is an absolutely committed manager.

"As far as he is concerned it was the right thing to do. Players have an obligation to deliver and he felt let down by their first-half performance.

"He had given the players Christmas Day off to let them be with their families and they were obliged to put on a complete performance.

"There is no panic or crisis at Hull and I still have a lot of confidence in the team continuing to flourish in the Premier League."