Dowie in dark over future as Hull face the drop

Hull manager Iain Dowie admits his future is out of his hands after a 1-0 defeat against Sunderland pushed the Tigers to the brink of relegation from the Premier League.

Darren Bent’s seventh minute goal coupled with West Ham’s 3-2 victory over Wigan left Hull six points adrift of safety with two games left and with a vastly inferior goal difference.

Dowie was brought in last month following Phil Brown’s sacking with the task of keeping the Tigers up, but his failure to deliver could lead to his release when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Yet the former Crystal Palace boss insists his record in the Championship makes him a worthy candidate as chairman Adam Pearson and owner Russell Bartlett decide who will take charge at the KC Stadium next term.

“I’m bitterly disappointed. It’s a dark dressing room in there. It’s very disappointing for a great region,” Dowie said.

“The fans were absolutely sensational. They have come in great numbers and supported us magnificently in difficult times and we apologise to them.

“You’re not going to right a thousand wrongs in a short period of time. I came here knowing exactly what was going on and in the end we weren’t quite good enough to stay up.

“It’s not a decision for me (whether he stays). I’ve never walked away from a challenge in my life. It is a huge challenge here but it’s one the powers that be will have a decision to make.

“I know what I do every day in work, I know the way in which I train, I know my CV stands up to scrutiny in terms of play-offs and what I’ve done with different clubs.”

Another woeful start was not what Hull’s situation called for and they could have been behind before Bent got on the end of Kenwyne Jones’ header to put Sunderland in front seven minutes in.

Hull only had themselves to blame for not drawing level four minutes before half-time. A clear foul by Hull old boy Michael Turner on Geovanni brought a penalty but Jimmy Bullard did not strike the ball cleanly and it bounced away off Craig Gordon’s post.

Both sides then found themselves down to 10 men after an ugly incident in first-half stoppage time when Jozy Altidore and Alan Hutton tangled on the touchline. Hutton reacted foolishly to what he felt was a bad challenge by throwing the ball at his opponent, provoking Altidore into a headbutt in response.

Sunderland boss Steve Bruce was incensed by Altidore’s actions and said: “We all do things in the heat of the moment on a football pitch. Alan Hutton was arguably a bit silly to have thrown the ball at his back but it’s not going to do any real damage to him.

“The incident after that is totally ridiculous. Hutton’s got a cut eye, a smashed nose and a chipped tooth so he’s close to having really serious facial injuries.

“That for me doesn’t warrant the same punishment but the letter of the law is if you throw the ball I do believe it’s a red card.

“It’s GBH, not a sending-off. I like Altidore but you don’t want to see that.”