Hull City manager Mike Phelan explained "we need to do more and we know that" after his side were easily beaten at the KCOM Stadium by Stoke City on Saturday.

"We have to learn quickly"

Although unbeaten in three, Stoke were a side that Hull would have been looking to take three points off as they languished in the relegation zone. Yet a Xherdan Shaqiri double ensured that the teams swapped places and Hull's downward spiral continued.

Phelan walking Hull's touchline. | Photo: Getty Images
Phelan walking Hull's touchline. | Photo: Getty Images

With just one point from seven games, Phelan has asked his side to rekindle the spirit and form they had at the start of the season. “We’re on the end of a few defeats now and we need to try and get some sort of purpose into our play and find the work ethic that we had in the opening games of the season". However the manager also explained that time is against them to find that quality. “We’re not here to just lay down and let sides beat us, we have to learn and we have to learn quickly".

"This game was extremely disappointing"

Phelan admitted that Shaqiri's opener was unstoppable but was disappointed at the way his side buckled for the second. “We got done by a quality first goal, it was an exceptional goal." Adding that the second goal could have been stopped, "We had four or five opportunities to clear the ball, we didn’t, they got a free kick and a quality player put it away".

The boss also highlighted his team's poor passing as another reason behind the defeat. “We didn’t pass the ball well enough, and we didn’t look to get on the ball well enough." Although he admitted that, "There were probably a few nerves there because of previous results".

However, Phelan has urged his side to focus on the future and recover quickly. "It's annoying and disappointing but we have to look forward".

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