Hull City 1 MK Dons 1: Tigers need to produce new home plan as worrying trend continues

“Yes, we are down,” said the Tigers full-back in the wake of a hugely disappointing two dropped points at home to struggling Milton Keynes Dons, “but we are definitely not out.”

Robertson’s belief is admirable. It could also prove to be well placed during a pivotal seven days, which continue tomorrow with a home game against Nottingham Forest before climaxing with a truly titanic encounter at Middlesbrough on Friday night.

But few among the 16,000 or so Hull fans traipsing away from the KC Stadium shortly after 5pm on Saturday will have shared the Scotland international’s optimism after witnessing a tame display from a side held at home for the third league game running.

However, whereas the goalless draws with Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton could be judged in the context of decent performances by the visitors, this was an altogether more worrying effort.

Only rock-bottom Bolton had collected fewer points than the Dons on the road in the Championship this season, yet Hull took 46 minutes to muster a shot on target.

Then, after Antony Kay’s shock opener for the visitors had been cancelled out by an exquisite free-kick from Sam Clucas on 53 minutes, Hull laboured for the rest of the game to such an extent that it was difficult to begrudge Karl Robinson’s men their point at the final whistle.

Even eight minutes of stoppage time was not enough for the Tigers to conjure a winner to leave Robertson admitting that Steve Bruce’s men are falling short of the required standard at the moment.

“I feel like we have got plan A, but maybe not plan B,” said the 22-year-old. “We are trying, the gaffer is making substitutions, but things just aren’t running for us.

“The dressing room was not a happy one afterwards. The boys know we didn’t perform to the standards we should be at. The first half just wasn’t good enough.

“It is more points dropped at home and the teams ahead of us have won, so the gap has opened up.

“But, there is still a long way to go. We need to pick ourselves up quickly and go again on Tuesday (against Forest). We need to get back to the home form everyone was talking about earlier in the season because just now this is not promotion form.”

Hull’s results at the KC Stadium, so imperious until the recent trio of consecutive draws, are undoubtedly a concern. So, too, is a tendency to drop unexpected points against teams from the lower echelons of the Championship.

Where Burnley have taken a quite remarkable maximum 51 points from 17 meetings with teams in the bottom nine places of the table, Hull’s 12 games against the same opposition have yielded 24 points.

It is a perfectly respectable tally, but if the Tigers are to have any hope of reining in Sean Dyche’s Clarets during the run-in then there can be no repeat of the insipid efforts that allowed MK Dons to join Blackburn, Rotherham and Charlton in taking points off Bruce’s men.

Hull were not helped by Jake Livermore tweaking his knee in training the previous day. His absence meant the midfield lacked vigour and energy, while Bruce switching Clucas into the centre from the left flank also robbed Hull of the link-up play between him and Robertson that has proved so devastating.

The upshot was the Tigers looking laborious against a side that had clearly come hoping to disrupt proceedings with goalkeeper David Martin starting to time-waste as early as the second minute.

As frustrating as that was, however, Hull still had no excuse for their sorry efforts during those opening 45 minutes.

Matters improved after the break, Bruce admitting: “What is said in the dressing room stays there, but it is fair to say a few of them needed a reminder (during half-time).”

But, even allowing for Hull upping the tempo markedly in that second half, it was still pretty underwhelming stuff. Even the defence, so rock solid in not conceding a goal for 10 hours on home soil before the Dons’ visit, were guilty of letting their standards slip.

For the 50th-minute opener, Rob Hall was allowed to run 40 yards unchallenged before Curtis Davies finally halted his progress at the expense of a corner.

Then, when Hall sent over the resulting flag-kick, Kay was afforded a free header that flew beyond Allan McGregor.

Credit is due for the home side taking just three minutes to restore parity, Clucas curling in a fine free-kick that left Martin rooted to the spot.

After that, Hull dominated possession but did very little with it other than carve out a few half-chances that were either squandered via poor execution or questionable decision-making and it was the visitors who went closest to a winner when Daniel Powell brought a smart save from McGregor following a swift break.