Wigan Athletic v Hull City: Tigers can restore pride by bowing out on a high

But for Matt Duke, the meeting between Hull City and Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium represents a chance to lift some of the gloom that has descended on the Yorkshire club during the past week.

Relegation being all but confirmed by the defeat to Sunderland nine days ago has left players facing an uncertain future.

With the club's debt standing at 35m, Hull are desperate to slash a burdensome wage bill by off-loading all their high-earners.

Duke, back in the team after displacing Boaz Myhill, admits it is an unsettling time for everyone at the KC Stadium but believes a strong end to the season can at least send the club into the summer on a minor high.

Ahead of a game that was selected for live transmission by ESPN several weeks ago and before Hull's fate was known, the Tigers goalkeeper said: "We have got to try and go out on a high.

"It would be great to get our first away win of the season and then you don't get many bigger games than Liverpool at home. We have to try and put a smile on people's faces.

"Relegation is a step back but it is not the end. The club is in a position (in the Championship) that, 10 years ago, fans would have snapped your hands off to be there. We have got to look at the bigger picture and make sure it is a step back to take two steps forward."

Sheffield-born Duke joined the Tigers in the season that ended in promotion from League One under Peter Taylor. It means the former Blades goalkeeper has not only played in three separate divisions for the club, he also knows just what to expect when Hull kick off next season in the Championship.

The 32-year-old, who has made 19 starts in the top flight, said: "I don't think relegation has really sunk in for any of us.

"It has been a really subdued feeling. We set out to stay in this division and we haven't achieved what we wanted to achieve, and that is not a nice feeling.

"This club has had a lot of success in recent years so you can imagine how down the lads have been.

"Personally, I have been used to being part of a massive success story here so to see all that hard work end in relegation is not nice. It is very frustrating but life goes on and we have to make sure that we are ready to fight in an equally tough division next season.

"A lot of us have been in the Championship before and won promotion. So, we know what it is like in that division and we know what you need to do to succeed."

Relegation together with the bleak financial picture has left many fans wondering if history is about to repeat itself in terms of the club suffering similar problems to the ones that almost finished Hull before Adam Pearson rescued the club in 2001.

Meetings took place last week between the powers-that-be at the KC Stadium to try to plot a path through the problems.

The squad were not privy to those discussions and Duke insists all the team can do is concentrate on their own jobs.

He said: "You read all the different reports in the papers and because you often get speculation, we don't know the full story.

"But it is not something that is playing on our minds when we are out there. We can't let it affect us. No one knows what the future is going to hold when you drop a division and when clubs come looking for your players.

"It may well be a new-look team next season. If the bids are right for some players, then the club has to act in its best interests and let players leave.

"But the club has been in a lot worse positions than this, as the fans well know. This club has been through tougher times and it's important that we can brush ourselves down, stabilise and start all over again."

On today's trip to Wigan and next Sunday's final home game against Liverpool, Duke, who admits to having a relegation clause in his own contract, said: "There are two games still to play and we are now playing for our professionalism. People will be judging us on that so it would be nice to go to Wigan and finish the Premier League journey strongly."

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Last six games: Wigan Athletic WLLDWL, Hull City WLLDLL.

Referee: P Dowd (Staffordshire).

Last time: Wigan Athletic 4 Hull City 1; January 2, 2010; FA Cup.