Another disappointing week for Grant McCann and his Tigers which has seen them plummet down the Sky Bet Championship table following back-to-back derby defeats. 

Hull now sit in 18th place, just four points ahead of Middlesbrough, and lurk dangerously outside of the relegation with their last maximum points coming all the way back on New Year’s Day as they defeated fellow Yorkshire side Sheffield Wednesday.

The Tigers have only picked up two points in the Sky Bet Championship since that win and have conceded 24 goals in just ten games which has seen them tumble down the division. A defeat to Barnsley at the KCOM was followed by more home discomforts following a thumping courtesy of Leeds United to make Hull supporters start to get concerned about the gap between themselves and the relegation zone.

Here we look at TWO things Hull have done well this week and TWO things they will probably want to put behind them going into the crucial run in...

Hot: George Long

Despite Long having conceded a lot of goals in recent weeks, it would be hard to argue that without him it might have been a lot worse for the Tigers. The shot stopper pulled off a string of impressive saves to keep his side in the game early into their clash against Leeds United on Saturday.

Long joined the Tigers back in 2018 and has played 36 times in the Sky Bet Championship for Grant McCann. The former Sheffield United academy graduate had been impressive in the club’s rise the table in the first half of the season and has kept seven clean sheets so far this campaign.

A clear mistake cost the side against Barnsley, but he made up for it (sort of) when Leeds came to town.

Hot: Destiny is in their own hands

Although it may appear that Hull are sliding at a fast pace into the bottom three, the benefit for Hull is that their destiny is in their own hands and whilst they have a buffer between themselves and the clubs in the relegation zone, they can do their bit by beating the teams that are around them in the table.

Charlton, Middlesbrough and Luton are all yet to visit the KCOM this season which McCann will be looking at these fixtures as possible point earners. All the sides mentioned are currently below the Tigers in the table and with players set to return from lengthy injury breaks, Hull could well find themselves shooting back into mid-table.

Hull are fortunate to have played a lot of the top sides twice already this season, with only West Brom in the top six that they are yet to play away from home.

Not: Conceding so much 

Conceding goals appear to be Hull’s main concern right now. The 4-0 hammering by Leeds brought that to the forefront of attention as there appeared to be several mistakes which gifted Leeds United an effort on goal.

Hull were not helped by injuries this week, with both Jordy de Wijs and Reece Burke missing from the starting 11 for Grant McCann; two players who had previously been mainstays in the heart of defence.

At times the Hull back line made it easy for Leeds United by standing off them and allowing them time to get their heads up and pick the defence splitting ball. The fourth goal proved this to be true with Mateusz Klich having acres of space outside the Hull area; the Poland-born midfielder expertly found the head of Tyler Roberts who nodded home a fourth.

Not: Finding the net proves to be difficult

Over the course of the week, Hull have had 20 attempts at goal but haven’t managed to find the net once. On a weekend where Jarrod Bowen netted his first Premier League goal for West Ham against Southampton, Hull were not able to put the ball in the net without him: the story of the Tigers' season.

Whilst with the Tigers, Bowen was a constant source of goals from midfield which would eventually lead to Premier League interest and a move to West Ham on deadline day in January. However, the current Hull City line-up look a shadow of their former selves; a side that were in contention for a late charge into the play-offs look set to make a late charge into the bottom three.