Brown defiant despite defeat
Posted Wednesday, September 23, 2009 by PA
Hull manager Phil Brown remained defiant after his slide slumped to another demoralising defeat.
The Tigers, who are 19th in the Barclays Premier League after a poor start to the season, were crushed 4-0 by Everton in the Carling Cup.
The third-round tie at the KC Stadium was effectively ended in the opening 24 minutes as Ayegbeni Yakubu, Jo and Dan Gosling all struck before Leon Osman added fourth in the second half.
Discontent is growing among supporters and the pressure on Brown is increasing with a relegation battle looking likely even at this early stage of the campaign.
But Brown said: "We have got a big job to do. Everybody is expecting us to go out of this division because of the second-season syndrome.
"It is about rolling the sleeves up now and fighting even harder.
"Hopefully whatever team I pick on Saturday will respond in the right manner.
"Nobody likes being in the bottom three, but we have a job to do that is a long-term plan.
"That long-term plan is six games in. We have got a long way to go."
Brown made nine changes for the tie and fielded a number of fringe players to keep others fresh for Saturday's tough trip to Liverpool.
"We have a massive game on Saturday - nobody expects us to get anything - and then it a massive October for us," Brown said.
"The Premier League is obviously the priority. It always has been and always will be."
Everton's own dismal start to the season - three defeats in four Premier League games - now seems forgotten after an outstanding week.
The Toffees have scored 11 goals without reply in impressive performances against AEK Athens, Blackburn and now Hull.
Assistant manager Steve Round said: "I think the early goals made a difference, they knocked the stuffing out of Hull a bit.
"They had a young team trying to get to grip with the game and I think that might have knocked the wind out of their sails a little bit.
"Once we got the goals we took control of the game and it was just a matter of seeing it through."
Round was pleased to see Yakubu find the net in his first start since snapping an Achilles last November.
The Nigerian opened the scoring after 10 minutes and set up the third for Gosling before being withdrawn at half-time.
Round said: "He is a 20-goals-a-season striker. He has had nine months out and I have seen how hard he has worked to come back.
"It has been a long road for him so the whole team are delighted for him to get a goal."
On the reason for his substitution, he added: "He has got a slight thigh strain.
"We want him to train and be ready for Saturday so we took him off as a precaution."
Everton travel to Portsmouth at the weekend.
- Tag:
Photos
More»
Ex-Barcelona WAG strips completely naked
Thursday April 18 2024
[PICTURE SPECIAL] Real Madrid end City's UCL dream
Thursday April 18 2024
Glam British athlete Lauryn Davey shows off bum
Wednesday April 17 2024
Your Say