Talks over Dowie future on hold until end of season

The former Crystal Palace and Coventry boss was brought in for the final nine games following the sacking of Phil Brown two weeks ago.

Dowie has made a decent start to life at the KC Stadium, with a last-gasp defeat at Portsmouth followed by an impressive 2-0 victory over Fulham last weekend.

That lifted the Tigers level on points with 17th-placed West Ham having played a game fewer and Pearson this week hailed the transformation under Dowie.

But the manager is keeping his focus on the pitch, saying: "I don't think we'd do that (discuss the future) yet.

"When we came here, I knew exactly what the remit was. I've got seven games to go. Come the weekend after the season finishes, then we'll get to it.

"All that matters is that Hull are somehow in the Premier League, and that's the focus."

It is Hull's away form that has kept them in the bottom three and they travel to Stoke on Saturday still looking for a first win on the road this term.

The Potters have avoided the struggles their rivals have endured and currently sit 11th in the table. Tony Pulis's side have become renowned for their physical approach and prowess from set-pieces but Dowie believes their footballing credentials get overlooked.

He continued: "They're organised, they know where the delivery is and they punch their weight. You have to cope with it but they can play as well."