Harry Maguire insists Hull are not crumbling under pressure as they slide back into the relegation zone
Against Sunderland, Hull suffered the first home defeat of Marco Sliva’s tenure as head coach, with the club dropping back into the relegation zone
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Your support makes all the difference.Hull City defender Harry Maguire says the Tigers are not “crumbling” under pressure as they fight to avoid relegation from the Premier League.
The East Yorkshire club have slipped back into the relegation zone with two matches remaining after suffering the first home defeat of Marco Sliva’s tenure as head coach.
Sunderland, who have already been relegated, inflicted Silva’ first home defeat since March 2014 – the sequence had reached 41 matches, spanning spells with Estoril, Sporting Lisbon and Olympiakos.
Swansea’s victory over Everton on Saturday night plunged Hull into the bottom three with two matches remaining.
They travel to Crystal Palace on Sunday before hosting Tottenham Hotspur on the final day of the season.
“People might say we always fall at the last hurdle, but you have to look at our previous home games as well,” Maguire, who captained Hull on Saturday, said.
“We had won five out of six, so people who say we crumble under pressure are wrong. We have all handled pressure games in the past.
“Must-win games in the past - Middlesbrough, West Ham, Watford - we have delivered. So who says when we go to Palace we won’t deliver?
“We will have to get over disappointment this weekend and train hard. It is all to play for.
“Palace is a huge game and we will take a big following and try to put on a display.”
Hull controlled most of the match against David Moyes’s doomed side but were unable to find a way past the impressive Jordan Pickford in the visitors’ goal. While they did create chances, the hosts appeared anxious.
“You are tense going into any Premier League game but for them they had nothing to play for,” Maguire said.
“Every player is tense, but as a professional you should handle it well. We didn’t crumble, we had chances but didn’t score at the right times.
“In previous games when we had chances we have scored, especially at home. It is a day to move on from and get three points next week.”
Unlike Hull, Sunderland took their chances. The opening goal came when Billy Jones applied a diving header to John O’Shea’s flick-on as the visitors took advantage of sloppy defending at a corner.
The second goal arrived in stoppage time as Jermain Defoe almost apologetically diverted the ball beyond Eldin Jakupovic from what looked like an offside position after Sebastian Larsson’s free-kick.
It was Defoe’s first goal in 11 matches and the win was just Sunderland’s sixth of a miserable campaign. Their focus is already on preparing for life in the Championship next season and Jones believes promotion has to be the target.
“It must be,” Jones said. “As a group of players we expect that from ourselves and I'm sure the club do as well.
“I'm sure the club are looking at that and will be working hard over the summer to try and make sure the club has got the best squad possible to try and do that within the Championship.
“It's pretty horrible, to be honest. It's not nice. It's depressing and all the words you'd think to use. It's not a very nice situation.
“From a fan's point of view I imagine what they look for in a player playing for their club is commitment first and foremost, and then they look for technical ability and magic in the final third.
“I think even as a player that's the first thing I expect from my team-mates as well, knowing they're going to give their all and you can trust that every game. At times this year it's maybe been lacking and a bit disappointing that we haven't done that enough.
“That's the position we're in. Every player needs to look at themselves in the mirror and see if they could have done more to avoid this relegation.”
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