Phil Brown is confident his Hull side can still grab automatic promotion following their late win.
Hull chief backs his players to complete the job
Phil Brown is confident his Hull side can still grab automatic promotion following their late win over Crystal Palace.
Captain Ian Ashbee was the hero for the Tigers as he rose to meet Dean Marney's corner with a header five minutes from the end of a pulsating contest, which had earlier seen Scott Sinclair cancel out Fraizer Campbell's opener.
Hull are now two points behind second-placed West Brom in the standings - with the latter having a game in hand against Southampton on Monday - and three adrift of Stoke.
"We needed to fulfil our side of the bargain, and we did that," said Brown.
"Because of the injury to Dean Windass, the final score had already gone at Layer Road and I knew Stoke had won, so I was about to throw complete caution to the wind, but then we got the goal.
"The second half performance was powerful and certainly worthy of winning the game, particularly as they only had one shot on target in the entire match.
"Next weekend is a must-win game, but if the players can handle the pressure here, I'm sure they can against Ipswich.
"All is not lost, as Leicester still need a result (against Stoke on the final day) and Southampton also have a hell of a game against West Brom on Monday.
"We've got here on merit and there is still a possibility of finishing the season second, or maybe even first."
Quietly confident
Palace manager Neil Warnock remained in a positive frame of mind, given Palace are still in charge of their own play-off destiny.
"The pleasing thing is that it is still in our hands to make the play-offs," said Warnock.
"I didn't really see a threat coming from them, so to give away a goal to a free header is disappointing.
"We can only get stronger though, and we've really enjoyed the second half of the season.
"No-one can complain if we don't make the play-offs, because we've given it a fantastic shot, and we've already surpassed everyone's expectations this season."
