Hull deny Brown sacking reports

Hull have denied reports Phil Brown has been sacked as their manager.

A number of bookmakers, including Paddy Power and William Hill, today suspended betting on Brown being the next Premier League manager to leave his job, while Dean Windass - the striker who fired Hull into the Barclays Premier League with the only goal in the play-off final victory in 2008 - has also called for the 50-year-old to depart the KC Stadium.

However, a statement tonight on the club's official website, www.hullcityafc.net, read: "Contrary to media speculation the club can confirm that Phil Brown has not been sacked and remains the manager of Hull City Football Club."

Windass called for Brown to "get moved on" amid the mounting speculation over the Hull manager's future.

Brown helped the club escape relegation in May but has eight points from 10 games in the current campaign, and they are only above Portsmouth and West Ham in the table.

Windass, who left Hull in January, told talkSPORT magazine: "I think sometimes you need a fresh change. Phil's done a fantastic job since he's been there but I think it's time that he should get moved on and bring somebody else in."

Windass, questioning whether the club can stay up this season, added: "It's going to be difficult. They're not getting results and they're struggling to score goals at the moment.

"They need a 10-15 goal-a-year striker to get away from the bottom of the table. They've got a little mini-league at the moment and it's important they win games against teams in and around their league."

Brown had earlier today given an interview to a local newspaper insisting he would not quit the club, although rumours still started spreading about his future.

There have also been concerns about the club's long-term financial position, stemming from accounts being published covering the year ending July 2008.

In that 12 months Hull made a loss of nearly £10million as they won promotion to the Premier League via Windass' goal at Wembley.

This does not include any figures from the club's first season in the top tier of English football, and the directors remain confident the next set of results will be much more positive.