He stood on the touchline, a man alone; legs apart, hands clasped behind his back, headset and trench coat. If yesterday marked Phil Brown’s last stand at Hull City, it was lacking in the posturing and pyrotechnics that have increasingly become a feature of his management. If you looked closely, you might even have called it dignified.

The mask slipped only once. When Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, the substitute, reacted quickest after Thomas Sorensen had weakly punched at a fierce shot from Jimmy Bullard, Brown could not deny himself. He bent his knees, clenched his fists and revelled in the moment. It was the 90th minute and perhaps, just perhaps, in those manic seconds, his position had been saved.

The final whistle brought no gloating, just a sullen handshake for Tony Pulis, the Stoke City manager, and a purposeful march up the tunnel.

All afternoon, he had been subjected to chants of “Tango, Tango, what’s the score” and “You’re getting sacked in the morning” from the visiting team’s supporters, and Hull’s third win of a desperate, uncomfortable season was a cause of grim relief. Brown failed to show up for the post-match media briefing, which was taken by Brian Horton, his assistant.

“He’s having a Guinness, and he deserves one,” Horton said. “There’s nothing sinister about it. He’s just decided to step out of the spotlight and what’s wrong with that? Sir Alex Ferguson doesn’t come out every week, does he?”

While that may be true, it represented a drastic switch in emphasis. “As an organisation, we may need to learn to have some humility again,” said Adam Pearson, the man who returned to the KC Stadium last week as chairman.

His instruction was followed to the letter. More importantly, the players finally dredged up some evidence that, in Brown’s words, they still back him “one million per cent”.

Speaking before kick-off, Brown was adamant that his position was not imperilled. “The chairman came to join us in the hotel last night and we were talking about the long term, we’re not talking short term,” he said.

Pearson was more circumspect. “We are not talking about a number of games,” he said. “We are trying to support Phil as much as possible. No decision on his future has been made. Sometimes the pressure gets so great from everybody, from the supporters and the board, for a change that it happens.

“But if you can be strong and dig in, then I think it is a decent solution and something worth considering. I wouldn’t say his job is on the line. There are a whole set of circumstances that need to be considered but it is not just down to one or two games.”

In recovering from Matthew Etherington’s 29th-minute goal, Hull demonstrated resilience. In his first start for the club, ten months after his club-record £5 million transfer from Fulham, Bullard provided Brown’s side with a dose of dynamism.

Their endeavours were worthy of reward and eventually they found it. Stephen Hunt laid the ball off to Seyi Olofinjana, a summer signing from Stoke, whose pivot neatly took out two defenders, before he restored parity with a wonderful shot.