HULL CITY: Three wins at least needed, says Pearson

HULL City must win at least three of their final 10 games if they are to clinch a third season of top-flight football, according to chairman Adam Pearson.

A worrying run of form has seen the Tigers suffer consecutive defeats at Blackburn, West Ham and Everton and prompt a slide back into the relegation zone.

However, returning to the KC Stadium for the first time in five weeks for the visit of in-form Arsenal tomorrow, Pearson believes the survival fires can be re-ignited with another stirring performance on home soil.

And plotting a route to Premier League safety, the City chairman says a minimum of three wins must be found.

Pearson said: "This is the third consecutive year where this club has had the chance to earn a place in the top flight. It's massively important that we take it.

"We've got 10 games to do it and we have to look at Arsenal as the first opportunity. No game should be beyond us.

"If we can get something off Chelsea and Manchester City, then we can certainly get something from Arsenal.

"We know it will be difficult, Arsenal are the form side in the Premier League, but if we can get a few breaks for a change, we are a match for any side in this division.

"We're going to have to win at least three of our last 10 games and look to draw some more.

"We'd prefer four wins and make life more comfortable for ourselves and that can start against Arsenal."

With only five wins from 28 games this season, it is a tall order for Phil Brown's men.

But with six of the remaining 10 games to come at the KC Stadium, Pearson's positive rhetoric is not without substance.

The Tigers have lost just one of their last 10 home games and managed to take four points from Chelsea and Manchester City in their last two fixtures at the KC.

Confidence has since been dented with three straight defeats but Pearson says the club must remain together.

"We're all going to have to get back to that level of commitment and spirit," said Pearson. "We have to have a slightly longer memory and remember how well we played last month. That work ethic will be key for us."

A reduction in segregation should ensure City break the 25,000 attendance mark for the first time at the KC Stadium tomorrow evening.

With all tickets sold out for the televised fixture last week, the current record of 24,959 – set against Manchester City last month – should be broken.

"We will need every one of those supporters behind us," added Pearson. "For too long visiting teams had things too comfortable when they came to the KC.

"We've got to get a little bit more hostile and make life unpleasant for visiting teams. When we've done that, we're capable of matching any side."