Hull boss Phil Brown has shrugged off claims that he had contributed to his side’s potentially disastrous defeat at relegation rivals Sunderland.
Brown annoyed Sunderland in the build-up to Saturday’s 1-0 defeat by suggesting they had underachieved after spending heavily on players in the past year.
Sunderland manager Ricky Sbragia fired up his players by pinning the comments on the dressing room wall before the kick-off and the Scot was still fuming about Brown’s remarks after the match.
Sbragia said: “A manager should think about his own club instead of criticising other clubs.
“He talked about Sunderland, the players we had bought and the prices we had put on their heads. That’s nothing to do with them.
“I didn’t need to have a chat with the players – I just stuck the comments up on the wall.
“I told them there is some good reading on the dressing room when you get down there.
“They were a bit annoyed. They have been excellent for me and I don’t think they have underachieved.
“They gave their all against Hull and have always done that for me.”
Brown seemed unconcerned, however, at Sbragia’s motivational move.
“That’s Ricky’s prerogative. It’s got nothing to do with me,” said the Hull manager. “I can’t legislate for headlines.”
The row flared up after a goal from French international Djibril Cisse earned a valuable win for Sunderland, who had lost their previous four games.
Hull claimed the striker was offside when he headed in Andy Reid’s cross in stoppage time at the end of the first-half.
But Brown said: “I am not going to harp on about it. The timing of the goal killed us to a certain extent, though, because the stadium had been quiet and the Hull fans were making more noise.
“I thought we deserved something from the game and I will be happy if I get that type of commitment between now and the end of the season.”
Hull will certainly need something special from a team that has now won only once in 16 league games and must face Manchester United, Liverpool and Aston Villa among their final five matches.
“We are still out of the bottom three and I feel we can get the points we need, but only with this type of commitment,” said Brown.
“Both teams were one million per cent committed to winning every tackle, but there was a lack of quality in the final third.”
Sunderland’s run-in is less testing and they face their final five matches with their confidence lifted by this result.
Sbragia said:”It was an important three points. We played well against Manchester United last week and and had to show the same commitment and desire – and that’s what we did.
“It was a game we had to win and it is very difficult when you are under a lot of pressure to win a game.”
