BROWN MUST FIND HIS ROOTS OR LOSE JOB

Brown needs a win like never before when his side host Stoke at the KC Stadium this afternoon.

He will be hoping to impress new chairman Adam Pearson and earn himself a stay of execution as he battles to lift the Tigers out of the drop zone. Brown has become a fi gure of fun for neutrals in the wake of some bizarre behaviour this season and last.

Pearson said: “I spoke to Phil at length as to how the club was now perceived in the media. He’s a bright guy and realises the club is seen very differently to how it was when winning promotion.

“I think he would recognise that the club has lost touch with its roots.

“It has also possibly lost touch with the community and with the rest of the teams in the Premier League. I still think Phil can get back to what he was doing very well until Christmas last year.

“That was keeping himself and the team below the radar, working hard and staying down to earth.”