'˜We should have had a penalty as well' says Hull City manager Nigel Adkins after defeat at his old club Sheffield United

David McGoldrick's 70th-minute penalty, allied to favourable results elsewhere, gave United a key triumph which also consigned their opponents to the bottom of the league.

Hull have now lost eight of their 12 league games this season, with their plight compounded by a hostile relationship between supporters and the club's owners, the Allam family.

And Adkins said: "It is what it is. The league table doesn't lie.

"It's not where you want to be in the division - you can't hide away from that.

"We are creating chances and we do look solid defensively. Sometimes it's fine margins.

"But we've got a unity, with people working really hard for the cause. The players are grafting.

"Sometimes when you are at the bottom you don't get the rub of the green, and maybe today was a case of that.

"We've just got to keep grafting through it."

Adkins suggested Hull should also have been awarded a penalty for what he saw as a similar offence on Elphick to that of United's "dubious" spot-kick.

He added: "If that's a penalty, it should be a penalty for us as well."