Brown unfazed by pressure

Brown: Defiant on future

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Phil Brown remains defiant over his future as Hull City boss and claims there is no extra pressure on him to win this weekend.

If media reports are accurate, Brown's tenure at the KC stadium is hanging by a thread after a dreadful Premier League run which has seen them win just three times in 2009.

With home victories against Bolton and Wigan the Tigers' only successes in the current campaign, Brown's men could find themselves propping the division by the time Sunday's clash with Stoke arrives - a game you can catch on Sky Sports 1, HD1 and Sky Player.

The Tigers boss is under heavy scrutiny to come out the victor of the KC fixture, but he has brushed off speculation that he will be out of a job should the Potters walk away with the three points.

Defiant

"I am not tired of hearing it - I am not aware of it. It is as simple as that," Brown said.

"People are saying it's a must-win game but it's not a must-win game at all.

"As far as I am concerned, putting a performance in similar to the Burnley game 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."

Among the pressing issues facing newly installed chairman Adam Pearson is the size of the club's wage bill, which has officially been revealed as £36million.

That could mean a number of players moving on in the January transfer window but Brown would not be drawn on suggestions Pearson may wish to offload as many as 15 of the squad, adding: "He hasn't said that to me."

Backing

One player likely to be involved against the Potters is midfielder Seyi Olofinjana, who joined the club from Stoke for £3million in the summer.

The Nigerian struggled to establish himself at the Britannia Stadium last season and is keen to repay Brown's faith by helping him turn the Tigers' season around.

"I don't want the manager to get sacked," said the 29-year-old. "He has shown a lot of faith in me and brought me here.

"I feel for him and feel very badly, but we can only help him by playing well and getting points on the board.

"We have got the responsibility of getting points, it is not just him.

"Training has been nothing different and the manager has got smiles on faces as usual.

"It doesn't matter who is in charge of the club [as chairman], we know we have to start getting points and climbing the table."

Contrasting fortunes

Hull and Stoke were both promoted to the top flight in 2008 but their paths have veered in opposite directions since.

Twelve months ago Hull were in the top six while Stoke were pulling away from the bottom, yet by the end of the campaign it was Tony Pulis' men who survived with greater ease.

This term Stoke are sitting comfortably in mid-table while Hull struggle and Brown admitted the Potters are even better this time around.

He said: "I think Stoke have got a better squad than they had last year and are attacking the Premier League in the same manner.

"We'd all like to achieve the status Stoke had last year.

"Tony was, in many people's eyes, the manager of the year. He has done a magnificent job and everybody's attempting to try to achieve the same."