Phil Brown is not placing too much emphasis on his Hull City side getting a result against Stoke City in the Barclays Premier League on Sunday, despite Adam Pearson, the new Hull chairman, demanding positive results.

Pearson was appointed last week and immediately challenged his manager to start securing points or risk losing his job. Brown, however, doesn’t seem too impressed by this demand and is more interested in his players putting in a creditable performance.

“People are saying it’s a must-win game but it’s not a must-win game at all,” he said. “As far as I am concerned, putting a performance in similar to the Burnley game [last Saturday when Hull lost 2-0] will be sufficient to get the home crowd going.”

“If we get that performance, the results will follow. It is about putting our best foot forward in the first 5-10 minutes to get the crowd behind us.”

Hull are 19th in the table after 11 games, one point ahead of Portsmouth, the bottom club who lost their opening seven matches. Brown sees it as essential to shield his players from the criticism that can accompany such form.

“It’s part and parcel of my job. I look at my players on the training ground to see if the pressure is getting to them and all I can say is that they will be throwing their hats into the ring this weekend. I can’t ask any more as a manager.

“We have got to keep in any positivity and keep any negativity outside the camp. With the amount of media pressure it’s very easy to get distracted, but where the players are concerned we are looking for a performance.”