Debate: is Phil Brown an embarrassment to Hull City?

At the risk of sounding patronising or stupid – and earning instant punishment from a forced walk along the plank at the end of the town’s famous pier – mentioning Wigan Athletic in the same breath as the Europa League does not seem rational.

North West minnows mixing it on the Continent? Give over.

Not any more. Seventh place in the Barclays Premier League this season is expected to be enough to join the competition-formerly-known-as-the-Uefa-Cup at the start of the 2009-10 campaign. As it stands, after a scrappy yet deserved victory over Hull City yesterday, it is Wigan who occupy that place.

It says much not only for the investment and belief of Dave Whelan, the owner and chairman, but also for the patience and skills of Steve Bruce, the manager. Even without the influential Wilson Palacios and Emile Heskey, who departed in the January transfer frenzy, Bruce has reshaped his squad and continued on his merry path. In came Ben Watson, a £1.5 million bargain from Crystal Palace.

It was the pugnacious red-haired midfield player, after numerous goal attempts that had narrowly missed, who coolly lobbed the late winner against Hull. Matt Duke’s punched clearance fell short of distance and Watson responded with his second goal in consecutive games.

In came Charles N’Zogbia, the “victim” of Joe Kinnear’s “insomnia” gaffe at Newcastle United. He tormented Hull in the first half and had the left winger not been crunched by the mother of all 50-50 challenges from Kamil Zayatte – neither lasted the 90 minutes – Wigan’s victory margin could have been considerably greater.

Mido, on loan from the sinking ship that is Middlesbrough, has come in, too, but his contribution, as is often his wont, was sporadic only. Still, Wigan appear to be charting a course towards Europe and Bruce is daring to believe. “It’s absolutely possible,” he said. “And just to be in this position is absolutely terrific.”

Wigan had won 5-0 at the KC Stadium in August and Maynor Figueroa almost gave them an ideal start when his wind-assisted 40-yard lump forward landed on the joint of crossbar and post.

Up until the interval, it was Watson and N’Zogbia who ran the show, with Hull restricted to a minor role comprising little more than a few teasing runs from Geovanni.

“We could have had it won a lot sooner,” Bruce said. “The first half was one-way traffic. We had umpteen chances but just couldn’t take them. Ben was a bit of a snip at £1.5 million. I suppose I’ll have Simon Jordan [the Palace chairman] on the phone ranting and raving that I’ve done him.”

Hull, so they claimed, may have got “done” in North London on Tuesday. At least, this time, there was no nastiness, no hysterical claims and no spat in the tunnel. Phil Brown, their combustible manager, had one of his quieter fixtures during the club’s eventful first season in the Premier League.

Of more concern, no points, either. Brown did not accept the 2-1 defeat against Arsenal in their explosive FA Cup quarter-final at the Emirates Stadium six days ago with much grace – and perhaps he had just reason to rant at the bad manners of Cesc Fàbregas and Arsène Wenger – but he could not mask the truth at the blustery bowl of a JJB Stadium.

Four points is all that separate Hull from the drop and a swift return to the wastelands of the Coca-Cola Championship. “I suppose you could call the late goal cruel but it was inexperience that cost us today and we need to learn from that,” Brown said. “We came back into it in the second half but if we’d won, I’d have said we had pinched it.”

Brown behaved. He sat in the main stand for most of the first period, communicating by face-mike with Brian Horton, his assistant, and only joined him in the technical area shortly before half-time. He chewed his gum, grimacing occasionally for the cameras, but his team gave him few reasons to be cheerful.

If they do not soon, the future is grim. As Wigan head for the European hotspots, Hull’s love affair with the top flight could be long gone.

Wigan (4-3-1-2): C Kirkland 6 M Melchiot 5 E Boyce 5 T Bramble 6 M Figueroa 5 B Watson 7 M Brown 5 C N’Zogbia 7 P Scharner 6 H Rodallega 5 Mido 4 Substitutes: D de Ridder 4 (for N’Zogbia, 46min), A Zaki (for Mido, 72), O Kapo (for Scharner, 77). Not used: M Pollitt, R Kingson, E Edman, Cho Won Hee. Next: Everton (a).

Hull (4-3-1-2): M Duke 4 S Ricketts 5 M Turner 6 K Zayatte 5 A Dawson 5 B Mendy 5 D Marney 6 K Kilbane 6 Geovanni 5 C Fagan 5 Manucho 4 Substitutes: R Garcia 6 (for Dawson, 38min), C Folan 5 (for Zayatte, 61), P Halmosi (for Fagan, 82). Not used: B Myhill, N Doyle, R France, N Barmby. Next: Portsmouth (h).

Referee A Marriner 7 (rep: M Dean, 90) Attendance 17,689