Grant McCann is 'fine' and will remain in charge of Hull City for Saturday's crunch clash with Luton Town

Hull City head coach Grant McCann, left, and his assistant, Cliff Byrne, show their frustration from the sidelines during the Tigers' 8-0 mauling at Wigan Athletic. Picture: Getty Images

The Tigers chief was due to speak with the media on Thursday afternoon ahead of this weekend's relegation six-pointer at the KCOM Stadium, but instead sent his number two out to field questions.

McCann's position has been widely questioned in recent weeks as City continue to struggle in the Championship and now find themselves stuck in the bottom three and staring relegation to League One in the face.

Following a run of just one win in 17 league matches, the pressure on the Northern Irishman intensified significantly after his team were humiliated at Wigan Athletic on Tuesday night.

City players cannot hide their disbelief at finding themselves 7-0 down to Wigan Athletic at half-time. Picture: Getty Images

And, his press conference non-attendance in the wake of that 8-0 loss led some supporters to question whether he had departed the club.

Byrne, however, revealed that this is not the case, answering "absolutely, yeah" when asked if McCann would be in charge of Hull against the Hatters.

He added: "He's good, he's good. We're just sharing the workload today, that's all.

"The manager has led from the front [in training this week], he's led the group as he has done all season. He's been fine, there's nothing to delve into there, the manager's played at the highest level and on big occasions so pressure comes naturally to him.

"We're not shying away, or sugar-coating the performance on Tuesday, we weren't happy with it, we were disappointed with it - as everybody was as a group.

"The important bit now is how we go and respond."

A response is desperately needed from 22nd-placed City on Saturday, with the losers of the game with Luton (23rd) almost certain to be relegated.

Three points would however lift the victor out of the drop zone, and one positive for Hull in spite of their wretched recent run is that they did beat the Hatters 3-0 away from home the last time the sides met.