Liam Rosenior admitted his shot-shy Hull players need to learn how to win when they do not play well.
The Tigers failed to produce a shot on target against a Stoke side who eased their Championship relegation fears with a 2-0 away win courtesy of goals from Josh Laurent and Ki-Jana Hoever.
Defeat dropped Hull two places to ninth in the table as the Potters moved five points clear of the drop zone.
Rosenior said: “There are games in the Championship when some teams have an off day, but they find a way to win. We have to find a way to win when we don’t play well.
“When you don’t play to your level you have to keep the back door shut and nick the win. We found a way to lose today.
“Some of our decision making in the final third, we showed such a lack of killer instinct. We didn’t have a shot on target. We got let down in both boxes which is really disappointing.
“I think the fans were great. Today we didn’t give the fans enough to shout about. It was brilliant to see a full house, but we didn’t give them enough to get behind.”
A first half devoid of chances saw one effort on target and it took until well into the second period before the deadlock was finally broken from a corner.
Ryan Mmaee headed towards the left post where an unmarked Laurent side-footed home from close range with 21 minutes to go.
The game was well into four minutes of stoppage time when Hoever sealed the victory for the visitors.
Stoke head coach Steven Schumacher praised a team performance which saw his side control the game.
He said: “I thought we played well, I thought we were the better team from the first whistle.
“In the first half, our performance was excellent, and we just lacked a goal. In the second half we had to weather the storm for the first 10 minutes. The lads were nice and calm and stuck to the plan.
“We’ve got a big squad so I can’t pick everyone every week. We felt in the last four games we had played well in three of them and not in the last one.
“Over the international break we had conversations with a few of the lads who started today, and we said it was up to them to come into the team and play well.”
Laurent got his first league goal of the season and Schumacher praised the forward who showed composure following a first-half yellow card.
“He had to use his brains because he was closing down and putting people under pressure,” Schumacher said.
“It was a captain’s performance. He was in the right place at the right time to get his goal.
“That’s three wins in five which is good for a team in the bottom half of the table. Showing some consistency is key now.”
Postecoglou: Spurs have a confidence problem to overcome
Ange Postecoglou says that Tottenham need to "overcome" their low confidence after suffering a 4-2 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.
Spurs slipped to their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat, being left to bemoan their slow start as they found themselves 4-0 down by the hour mark thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott.
Richarlison came off the bench to salvage some pride for Spurs, scoring one before setting up Son Heung-min for a goal on his 300th Premier League appearance.
Spurs had the opportunity to cut the gap to the top four after Aston Villa’s defeat to Brighton, but they remain seven points off a Champions League spot.
Postecoglou’s side still have a game in hand over the Villans, though he was sure that Spurs would be able to put their recent poor run behind them.
Asked if Spurs had a confidence problem, Postecoglou told Sky Sports: "Maybe in the front third there is.
"It probably is a bit of a lack of confidence, but again, that's something the guys have to work through.
"You have to find a way to overcome that because, ultimately, if you don't put pressure on the opposition in the front third after you've worked your way up there, they're going to get comfortable with their position."
Spurs have won just one of their last nine Premier League away games, failing to win any of the last five.
Despite that run extending at Anfield, Postecoglou highlighted what he thought was an improvement on their recent performances.
He continued: "Obviously a hugely disappointing outcome for us but at least we were more like ourselves today in terms of our football.
"Our last two away games at Newcastle and Chelsea, apart from the results which weren't great either, we just didn't try and play our football.
"I thought today, even in the first half, some of our football, our pressing was back to where it should be."
Roma 1-1 Juventus: Juve miss chance to close gap to second after draw with Roma
Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw at Roma on Sunday, missing the chance to close in on Milan in second place in Serie A.
Roma took the lead after 15 minutes when Romelu Lukaku found himself in the perfect position to tap in the rebound from a Bryan Cristante shot.
Bremer levelled with a header for Juventus just after the half-hour mark when Federico Chiesa picked him out inside the box from a corner.
Both sides had chances to find a winner in the final minutes, with Roma keeper Mile Svilar making a fingertip save to push Manuel Locatelli's volley over the bar.
Third-placed Juventus have 66 points, five fewer than Milan, who drew 3-3 with Genoa earlier on Sunday. Roma are fifth with 60 points.
Data Debrief: Leading from the back
Since scoring his first Serie A goal in the 2019-20 season, Bremer is the defender with the most headed goals in the Big-5 European leagues, netting 13 in total. Each of his last seven goals have been headers.
His goal was enough to earn Juventus a point today, but it means that they have drawn each of their last four in the competition - a first since February-March 2012 under Antonio Conte.
Chelsea 8-0 Bristol City: Blues rout hands Hayes perfect home send off
Guro Reiten starred as Chelsea thrashed already-relegated Bristol City 8-0 to keep their title hopes alive in the Women's Super League on Sunday.
The Norwegian scored four goals, netting the opener from the penalty spot to get Emma Hayes' last home game in charge off to the best start.
She scored the other three in the second half in just over 20 minutes, while teeing up Agnes Beever-Jones for the seventh goal with just two minutes left.
Beever-Jones got two, with Sjoeke Nusken and Niamh Charles also adding to the scoreline to eradicate the goal-difference advantage that Manchester City, who lost to Arsenal earlier on Sunday, had over them.
Chelsea move to within three points of the Citizens, with a game in hand over them, remaining in the fight to lift their fifth-consecutive league title.
Data Debrief:
Chelsea have scored eight goals in a game for the first time since December 2022 against Leicester City, a match they also won 8-0.
The Blues have scored in their last six games in the WSL, though it does not come close to their longest run of games with a goal in the competition - a run of 20 from April 2023 to February 2024.
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