Dowie called on to head Tigers' survival search

Chairman Adam Pearson insisted yesterday that the Tigers were determined to have a replacement for Phil Brown in place before this Saturday's trip to face bottom-placed Portsmouth.

Club officials had been told to be ready to hold a press conference today in case a deal is pushed through although Pearson – who conceded sacking Brown on Monday was a gamble – admitted he has had some unexpected interest in

the position from individuals not originally on their shortlist of five.

As well as those, the Yorkshire Post understands Portsmouth chief Avram Grant was also considered but he has not reciprocated the interest.

However, Dowie is expected to be given the job until the end of the season with Pearson indicating that a re-assessment of the situation will take place once Hull's fate is known.

Alan Curbishley, Gary Megson and Terry Venables had all ruled themselves out while it is understood another of Hull's initial targets – Mark Hughes – declined an offer despite the club apparently travelling across the Pennines to meet the ex-Manchester City chief face-to-face on Monday night.

"I think all the names mentioned (in the media) are pretty reasonable," said Pearson.

"There are a few who the press haven't picked up on yet that we're talking to and it's always nice to have a couple of secret ones tucked away.

"I think we'll be able to bring that to the fore over the next couple of days."

Dowie, the former Crystal Palace manager, has not been in charge of a club since leaving QPR in October 2008 – although he worked alongside Alan Shearer at Newcastle in last season's failed bid to stave off relegation – so there are no compensation ties to prevent a quick appointment.

Ex-Northern Ireland striker Dowie, 45, started his managerial career at Oldham in 2002 and has also been in charge at Charlton – briefly – and Coventry. He has been working largely as a television pundit of late but is keen to get back into the game.

Pearson had not ruled out a surprise runner yesterday while suggesting whoever is appointed might not be around come the start of next season if they fail in their mission to keep Hull up in the Premier League.

The pressure for instant results – starting at Portsmouth on Saturday – is intensifying with only nine games remaining this season and Hull embedded in the relegation zone, three points adrift of safety.

"Things are moving forward," said Pearson. "What happens when a manager leaves is that, suddenly, you get some interesting enquiries from left-field and they have to be considered.

"We've got a pretty tight list and we're working through it. Our intention is to have somebody in place for the weekend game at Portsmouth."

He added: "We are looking at this appointment as a nine-game survival plan and we are very much looking for an impact manager to come in and get things together to re-focus for the last nine games.

"We will then re-assess the situation in the summer either with that manager or another one depending on how successful we have been."

Pearson insisted the decision to sack Brown was not in any way related to last week's public spat between experienced players Nick Barmby and Jimmy Bullard which forced then manager Brown into making an apology for the pair's behaviour.

"There's nothing in those reports at all," said Pearson. "The situation is that we weren't accumulating enough points and that was purely and simply the reason."

Hull have suffered four successive defeats and Pearson believes a new man at the helm can inspire the squad into the performances required to avoid the much-feared drop.

"We feel that we've got a quarter of the season to go with some winnable games within that," he said. "It's not a fixture list that's packed full of 'top four' games; it's a fixture list with games where we would expect to get some points.

"We feel that we're best served by making the change now. That will bring a fresh face in, some new impetus and some new focus to get those 14 or 15 points that we're going to need."