Source: SKY_Sports
Brown remains upbeat
Phil Brown insists there were plenty of positives for Hull City to take out of a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool on Saturday. The weekend setback leaves the Tigers just one place above the Premier League drop zone with four games of the season remaining.They do have a three-point cushion on those below them, but that may not prove to be enough.Brown, though, remains upbeat and insists his side were unfortunate not to get something from title-chasing Liverpool at the KC Stadium.He felt referee Martin Atkinson did him no favours, while he was also left to bemoan Caleb Folan's needless dismissal."It doesn't give you any satisfaction losing, I'm not a good loser by any means," he said."Today we asked for the commitment we got at Sunderland last week. We got that and I think there was a bit more quality coming in the final third. I thought we produced more. "We were then unfortunate to find ourselves 1-0 down at half-time, and having to pick players up, when there is an injustice been done. "Our game plan really worked against the quality of Liverpool. We knew it was going to be tough and somebody has let them off the hook. No excuses"We then have to go and chase the game. "I have no excuses for the sending-off. It was justified and it will be dealt with in house. That killed us, playing 10 against 11. They were already 1-0 up and then Caleb has made it a big easier for them."On the award of a free-kick which allowed Xabi Alonso to open the scoring, Brown felt the officials lost control of the situation."I can't see it myself," he said."I saw a possible free-kick by Dean Marney on Xabi Alonso on the halfway line and the referee's waved play-on, and rightly so. He then issues a yellow card, but you don't need to stop the game to issue a yellow card, you wait for the game to stop."Awarding a free-kick 20 yards out, when a Liverpool player has fallen over and given them a free shot on goal, I can't accept that."Brown also accepts that his side must now raise their game during their remaining fixtures if they are to maintain their top flight status."The disappointing thing from my point of view is that we have saved the best for the best," he said."We need to start playing like that against the teams around us. We have got four games to go, two against the best and two against teams in and around us."