Andy Dawson provides Hull City manager update after Middlesbrough defeat
Andy Dawson expects to find out the next steps in Hull City's search for a new manager later this weekend after guiding the Tigers through a difficult game at Middlesbrough on Saturday lunchtime.
City were beaten 3-1 at in-form Middlesbrough in the first game after Tim Walter's sacking on Tuesday afternoon, having fallen 2-0 down before the break thanks to goals from Finn Azaz and Tommy Conway.
The Tigers threatened to produce a stirring comeback when Mason Burstow came off the bench to head in his first goal for the club from Abu Kamara's cross, but Conway's well-taken second nine minutes later and 11 minutes from time condemned City to a 10th game without victory and a fifth loss in a row.
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Away from the pitch, discussions have been ongoing with Ilicali over potential new recruits, but Dawson says talks over his role going into next week will take place in the next few hours with head of recruitment Jared Dublin.
"I haven't if I'm honest with you," Dawson told Hull Live at the Riverside Stadium when asked if he'd been given any indication about what's happening from Monday onwards. "There's obviously a lot going on over the last two or three days, as you can expect, so it was all about prepping for today. I'll probably have a conversation late this evening, so let's see what happens."
On the game itself, Dawson refused to be drawn on the controversial decision by referee Stephen Martin at 0-0 when Joao Pedro was through on goal and pulled back by Neto Borges. Martin waved away those protests for a red card, and Boro went on to score two good goals, the second of which had a large hint of offside about it.
"Listen, I'm not going to comment on the ref. That's something you guys have seen. I haven't seen it back. The lads said it was a foul, but again, I can't comment on that. We have a no-excuse mentality, we can't blame other people. We can only do what we can do. I hate blaming other people and going, 'he didn't do this' well, what can we do?
"What I've said to them is that the move was top. You can't affect what decision the ref makes. The second goal, is it offside? I don't know. Again, just have a look at it when we step up. I'm not going to make excuses because I challenge them every day, and if they stick to it, absolutely. You'll have to make up your mind about that (decisions)."
Much has been made of the fans' relationship with the former manager, but the 1,200 or so away supporters at the Riverside Stadium were signing Andy Dawson's name throughout, especially after the game when the players, management and staff went over to applaud them for their efforts.
"I thought the fans were top," he said. "We asked for everybody to stick together in our conversations on Thursday with the players and with the media, and I thought all the fans that came today, at two nil down, one nil down, did the stick, did they believe?
"Yes, they did like we did, like the players did, and then I was just disappointed that we didn't last at 2-1; it was a case of just keeping it rolling for another five or ten minutes because I felt things changing a little bit. You could see little things changing, but again, they're a good team that's credit to them. They dealt with it, and they scored a (third) goal."