Shota Arveladze says Hull City failed to deal with expectations in front of biggest home crowd since 2017

A crowd of 16,421 - Hull's biggest since hosting Tottenham Hotspur in October 2017 - saw their team hugely disappoint. They were lucky Callum Styles and Carlton Morris were the only goalscorers.

The Tigers have not won since Arveladze's first game in charge - a six-match winless streak - and the Georgian felt they failed to deal with expectations.

"I was very disappointed with the first half," said Arveladze of the period when the goals came. "I was not expecting such a slow game on our side, late reactions. That makes this game so difficult."

Hull have been the underdogs in many of Arveladze's game but the onus was on them to score the first goal against Barnsley. Instead, Keane Lewis-Potter volleyed wide in the second minute and it was Styles who broke the deadlock.

"It's experience and the pressure on you when you get this kind of game at home and you have to come out and do what everyone expects," argued Arveladze.

"Keano had a good chance to give us the start we imagined but it turns and you give the ball away, you have a corner in the last minutes (of the first half) which gives you a chance and you concede a second goal just before half-time.

"It's difficult at 2-0.

"We have to be really smart in these kind of games. This group have to learn and then you can get the first goal.

"I cannot talk too much about who made the mistakes.

When you are 1-0 down you stay in the game. We get a goal and we can stay in the game."

Arveladze took comfort from the attitude of his players in defeat, and the support they got from a crowd swelled by £2 tickets for children and seniors.

"The good thing is the boys know themselves (how badly they played) and sometimes you don't have to say too much," he commented. "They are honest, nice boys and they don't need anyone to tell them that.

"They immediately feel we didn't stand as a team. Of course it comes down to individual mistakes but we were all disappointed and not being in a good shape today.

"We have to all stay positive.

"The positive was the crowd, who helped us to the last minute. We still tried to react in the second half because it wasn't the end of the game.

"We tried. Maybe we could have created a little bit more but we had a chance to stay in the game with (Tyler) Smith.

"But we weren't at our best today and we gave a very important three points away."