Hull City continue to struggle as relegation looms large

An ignominious home defeat to bottom-ranked Barnsley has piled serious pressure on Hull City as the threat of relegation looms large. The side underwent a managerial change last month as they replaced Grant McCann with former Rangers striker Shota Arveladze.

However, things have not looked up for the Tigers ever since. Under Arveladze, the team is yet to register their first win as Hull are winless in their last eight outings.

As things stand, they are 20th in the table, just five points off Reading, who hold the last relegation spot. Worse still, while Reading have picked up seven points from their last three Championship outings, the Tigers have only earned two.

Things only go south under Arveladze

Arveladze's first key decision was to revert to a back-four formation, with the club conceding more than one goal a game until his arrival. While this seems to have reduced the number of goals the Tigers concede per game, it has severely limited their scoring opportunities up front.

The Tigers have netted just two goals across the competition in their last nine outings, failing to register a single win. Being a striker during his playing days, Arveladze was expected to transform Keane Lewis-Potter's form this season.

The English forward was sensational early on in the campaign, having netted six goals in addition to offering four assists. However, in the latter days of McCann's tenure, Lewis-Potter's contributions dried up, which significantly hampered Hull's prospects of finishing mid-table.

Lewis-Potter has barely improved under the new tenure. His confidence seems to have taken a big hit when the Georgian manager decided to opt for Marcus Forss as the lead striker.

Lack of creativity in midfield

This has been a major concern for Hull over the years and is perhaps the biggest reason behind their failure to gain promotion to the Premier League. Richard Smallwood is past his prime and his age seems to be a hindrance behind his slowness to track down his markers.

Alfie Jones, on the other hand, has been inconsistent, to say the least, with Arveladze preferring to play him as a substitute in some of their recent fixtures. Neither player possesses an array of passes or vision to aid the team going forward.

The Tigers' misery could be compounded with fixtures against rivals West Brom and Huddersfield in the coming weeks.