Hull City v Nottingham Forest - Time to try and enjoy the ride - Steve Bruce

The Tigers will move back into the top two of the Championship at the expense of Middlesbrough by beating Nottingham Forest tonight at the KC Stadium.

Hull have suffered an untimely dip in form, with the hugely disappointing weekend draw at home to Milton Keynes Dons seeing Bruce’s men jeered off the field by some frustrated home fans.

Respite came the following afternoon as Boro slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Charlton Athletic, their third loss in four outings.

With Hull set to visit the Riverside on Friday night, victory over managerless Forest would be a major fillip for the Tigers, who have taken just nine points from their last seven outings.

“I try to enjoy it,” Bruce told The Yorkshire Post when asked about the pressures to earn an instant return to the Premier League.

“Let me tell you, it is far more enjoyable than last year when we were trying to win a game to stay up, but we were getting beat every week.

“We have got a very, very good squad of players for this division and, all being equal, with the right bounce of the ball, we have got an outstanding chance of going up. That is the way I look at it.

“We have done well for the best part of six months so let’s enjoy it if we can.

“Of course, you get yourself strung up from time to time. But the daffodils are up, the sun is out and the big games are on the way.

“That is what we are in football for. These are the good times in management, trying to be successful and achieve something. To win a promotion is a great day for everyone.”

Asked if he felt the pressure had got to his players on Saturday, Bruce replied: “I hope not. If we are going to feel it already, that is not good as, for me, it hasn’t started yet.

“When you are down to four or five games, that is when you talk about pressure. It has not been an easy month with the fixtures we have had, but we cocked up badly against MK Dons. We now have to come back and be ready for Forest.”

Tonight also sees fourth-placed Brighton & Hove Albion, who are level on points with Hull having played a game more, host Reading, while Ipswich Town will pull to within a point of Sheffield Wednesday in sixth place if Mick McCarthy’s side can beat Blackburn Rovers at Portman Road.

Bruce’s sole focus, however, is how his players respond to that poor showing against MK Dons.

He is likely to be without injured duo Robert Snodgrass and Jake Livermore, two players whose energy and ability to up the tempo swiftly was sorely missed in the weekend draw.

The Tigers cannot afford a repeat of that slow start tonight and Bruce hopes the home fans can play their part after registering their upset on Saturday by booing at both the half-time and the final whistles.

“I could understand the booing,” added the Hull chief. “I could maybe have done it myself, but it doesn’t help anyone.

“The crowd felt edgy, but we need their help. If they can dig deep, come in their thousands again and play a part in pushing us over the line then that would be great.”

Andrew Robertson also hopes the crowd can help on a night when Forest, who sacked Dougie Freedman on Sunday after 13 months in charge, are expected to defend in numbers.

“MK Dons was probably the most frustrated the fans have been,” said the 22-year-old Scot. “You could hear it from the pitch.

“But, good or bad, we can’t let the fans affect us. You are going to put in a bad performance if you let it but, hopefully, they can be a little bit more patient and buy into what we’re trying to do.

“We all just need to be that wee bit more patient. The fans, in the first half, were urging the ball forward, but we should have faith in ourselves.

“If I play it out to Curtis (Davies) and he plays it out to Michael Dawson, that is going to move the opposition around. Teams come here and are compact, often 4-5-1. So,if we just launch the ball up to Abel (Hernandez) then it is not going to move them around. They are going to win the second balls when that’s the case.

“We need more movement all over the pitch. We are not creating enough space or picking the passes. That is a worry but it is something that will come.

“We have got some excellent footballers here. We are going through a bad spell at the minute but I have no doubts we will pick ourselves up.”

Forest lost five of their last six games under Freedman, but Bruce added: “It is about us and not them. If we play well, we are a handful for any team.”

Last six games: Hull City DWDLLD, Nottingham Forest LLLLWL.

Referee: A Davies (Hampshire).

Last time: Hull City 1 Nottingham Forest 2; March 16, 2013; Championship.

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