Stoke City v Hull City - Safety remains in our own hands, says Matt Pennington

Genuine play-off contenders as recently as the turn of the year, a run of 10 league games without a win has seen the Tigers plummet down the table.

And with the gap between themselves and the bottom-three now standing at just three points, a victory is needed. And fast.

There is some good news. At this stage, the fate of Grant McCann’s team remains very much in their own hands. They also face three of the sides currently beneath them in the table during the coming fortnight.

Winnable games against Stoke City, Charlton and Middlesbrough await, though it is imperative that City pick up points in these fixtures, starting at Stoke this afternoon.

“It’s a big month for us coming up,” said Hull’s Everton-loanee Matt Pennington.

“We’ve got 10 games left – with five of those against teams that are below us in the table.

“Everything is in our own hands, but we know we need to pick up some positive results – and that has to start against Stoke.

“We’re going to need to show resilience, hard work – and we’re going to need to stick together.

“This group is united and we’re all very much in it together. We’ve seen that this week in training and now we just need to show that on the pitch.”

Stoke currently sit two points and three places beneath City (18th) in the table, but Pennington is all too aware that the Tigers will have to scrap for everything they get in the Potteries.

“It’s a battle between two teams at the bottom end of the table. It’s going to be scrappy and a case of fighting for every ball, so we all need to stand up and be counted,” the 25-year-old defender added.

“Ultimately, though, it’s going to be about which team can produce the moments of quality to win the game – and that has to be us!

“They may be below us in the table, but believe me when I say we need the win just as much as they do.”