'Not good enough': Middlesbrough boss Kim Hellberg offers no excuses after a 'big, big disappointment' against Hull City

On a night when Boro had 23 goal attempts and Hull had one on target, the visitors left the Riverside Stadium with the points as Hellberg's second-placed side missed a chance to cash in on leaders Coventry City's defeat to Ipswich Town.

Boro - who have not scored in their last three Championship matches - are now just two points ahead of Ipswich and fourth-placed Hull, who avenged their 4-1 loss to the Teessiders earlier this month.

Hellberg said: "I'm disappointed over the result of course and not scoring a goal.

"Making the game look like this and (we) don't get away with a point or three points is not good enough and it's a big, big disappointment.

"So that would be a tough night. I think that's the way when you pick this type of work in terms of being a football coach that it would be a very, very dark night (sometimes). From that you try to find the light again and then you go again.

“That's how it is. I think we have to be honest here today. It's a little bit of lack of quality in the finishing situation.

"We need to be honest with that. I need to help the players in their positioning to get them into a better position and we need to work with it together and how we try to find a structure for them that we have to finish from their best position as often as possible.

"I think that, again, if you go and make the game look like this, you have to come away with points.

"You cannot have 23 shots, 60 crosses and 30 corners and then you've lost when they haven't won shots on target. You can't... "

"I think Blackburn and Hull played totally different. I think Blackburn was very, very brave in the pressing.

"They played man-on-man over the whole pitch and Hull were totally different.

"But it's not scoring in three games."

“It's nothing you can hide from.”