Coventry City 0 Hull City 1: Push for promotion takes priority over breaking records for Pearson

Hull manager Nigel Pearson said his focus was on results despite his team picking up a record-breaking win at Coventry.

A 1-0 triumph at the Ricoh Arena was the Tigers’ 14th consecutive match without defeat on the road – beating a record set in 1949.

Pearson admitted he was delighted to have picked up the accolade, but insisted attention remained solely on his team’s push for the play-offs.

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Aaron Maclean’s strike put them within five points of the top six and Pearson said: “I take great pride in the record and for the players it is a big achievement.

“But it isn’t the focal point because now we have to go on and keep it going. Today wasn’t about breaking a record and switching off. I don’t want to belittle the achievement because I think it is a great achievement by the players.

“You can see by the response from our fans that they probably enjoy going away from home a little bit more now but the challenge is to keep it going.

“We have had quite a big turnaround in terms of players from last season. The Premier League is a different proposition but I’m not playing the run down because at the start of the season the away form was a real problem.”

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Hull’s fortunes on the road are in marked contrast to their early-season form, which had Pearson’s men languishing in the lower reaches.

Pearson was pleased to bounce back from a loss to Burnley in midweek to remain in the promotion chase.

He added: “It was a tough game today because they play very direct football and create a lot of entries into the box. It was a tough battle but I thought we coped with it very well.”

Coventry chief Aidy Boothroyd said his players were lacking the consistency needed to haul them up the table.

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The Sky Blues remain in dangerous territory – seven points from the drop zone – and have picked up one win in their past 16 Championship outings.

They caused Hull problems from set-plays but never looked like scoring and Boothroyd said: “It is about consistency, it is about responsibility and it is about accountability.

“The first half today was just a lacklustre game and whether it is the backlog of recovery from Tuesday I don’t know but it is the same situation for Hull. If we are consistent we will win more games.”

Coventry City: Westwood, Keogh, Cameron (Hussey 83), Cranie (Clarke 85), Wood, Bell (Baker 75), Clingan, Gunnarsson, McSheffrey, Eastwood, Jutkiewicz. Unused substitutes: Quirke, O’Halloran, O’Donovan, Ruffles.

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Hull City: Guzan, Rosenior, Chester, Gerrard, Dawson (Hobbs 38), Cairney (Garcia 71), Harper, Evans, Koren, Fryatt, Mclean (Barmby 81). Unused substitutes: Oxley, Simpson, Amoo, Belaid.

Referee: S Tanner (Somerset).

Man of the match: Anthony Gerrard.