Verdict: Hull City 3 Brentford 2 - Nigel Adkins effect brings positive effect to tumultuous Tigers

So said new Hull City new head coach Nigel Adkins at his media unveiling on Thursday afternoon and his words felt particularly prescient given the events of just under 48 hours later.

A tumultuous afternoon that was exasperating at times, uplifting on other occasions and thoroughly never-wracking at its finale put Adkins and Tigers fans through the mill in what, in some respects, represented a microcosm of the club’s season.

It ended in the outcome everyone of an amber and black persuasion craved, not least Adkins.

It was never going to be straightforward though, was it? After all, it would not be Hull without a late wobble. But this time the Tigers got over the line.

Alongside relief there was also some affirmation and sense of acceptance for Adkins too.

A cry of ‘Nigel, give us a wave’ from sections of the home support just after Jackson Irvine’s seemingly killer third to make it 3-1 may have been brief. But it will have represented the sweetest music to the 52-year-old.

In his previous appointment in the dug-out during his final game in charge of previous club Sheffield United in May 2016, Adkins was greeted with boos, jeers and ironic cheers as he and his players walked around the Bramall Lane pitch in a ‘lap of appreciation’ after the Blades’ last match of the 2015-16 season.

Given Saturday’s events the healing process may have begun in earnest for Adkins.

His first game in charge was a rollercoaster by the Humber. But the fact that he saw the good and the not so good of his side first up was perhaps no bad thing.

After a quiet first half, the game sparked into life when David Meyler put through his own net early into the second half to give Brentford the lead. It was the sort of concession that smacked of a side in desperate strife at the wrong end of the table.

For a side without a win in their last seven games the fear was justifiable that things might just get worse before they get better.

Thankfully, this time, it was the darkness before the dawn and three goals in the space of 21 minutes turned the game on its head before John Egan’s late header set up a tense climax.

But Hull found a way and a chink of light at the end of a difficult week, which had started with the dismissal of Leonid Slutsky.

Seb Larsson, whose fine free-kick put Hull 2-1 ahead, said: “It is always difficult when the manager loses his job. It is because of us players, let’s be honest about that.

“That is not a nice thing, but then you have to keep going. It is about the football club; the new manager comes in and we have to try and turn things around.

“When a new manager comes in you start on square one. He (Adkins) said himself things cannot change overnight and he cannot get his ideas across straight away. All that information is difficult to take in so quickly. It was more about showing character.

“He has come in and been very clear about that, and that he believes in us and this squad that we can move in the right direction and a start like (Saturday’s) helps.

“It was clear to everyone from the position that we are still in that it is vital to pick up points, especially with the run of conceding late goals, and throwing points away in the way we have done.

“We made it tough for ourselves again. But the difference is that we held on. Hopefully it will bring a bit of confidence back into the team and we will start moving in the right direction.”

Little hint at the drama to come arrived in a pretty non-descript first half although the Tigers comfortably had the two best moments with impressive Bees goalkeeper Daniel Bentley making smart saves to deny Fraizer Campbell and Michael Dawson.

Hull’s torrid recent experiences at the KCOM then got a whole lot grimmer when an awful own goal put the Bees ahead.

Max Clark was the initial guilty party with his mistake and, after Ollie Watkins outstripped Larsson, the error was compounded when Meyler turned in his cross.

To a confidence-sapped unit such as Hull it looked a potentially fatal development. But instead it lit the blue touchpaper.

The recalled Kamil Grosicki got things rolling by rifling home a fine strike from distance, bailing out Clark and Meyler in the process, and suddenly Hull found their second wind.

Substitute Jon Toral, who made a discernible impact against his old club, then stumbled when well placed before Campbell hit the bar at full stretch after excellent play from Grosicki.

The pressure continued and Larsson’s precision free-kick beat Bentley before a high-class third when Irvine latched onto Toral’s lovely weighted pass and fired home. It was his first goal for Hull and just the sort of strike that saw him catch the eye at Burton.

Egan set up a riotous finale with substitute Nouha Dicko somewhat spurning a chance in eight minutes of stoppage-time before Allan McGregor denied Watkins.

And then the KCOM breathed again at the final whistle.