Stoke vs Hull City: Tigers are in a 'horrible dogfight' at the bottom, says Steve Bruce

Hull boss remains optimistic his side can stay up

Steve Bruce sees his team lose to Leicester (GETTY IMAGES)

Hull City boss Steve Bruce has said his team are in the middle of a 'horrible dogfight' at the bottom of the Premier League.

The Tigers have enjoyed a patch of good form, unbeaten in three matches, and travel to the Britannia Stadium to face Stoke City this weekend.

In recent weeks, Bruce's side have drawn at Manchester City before victories over fellow-strugglers Aston Villa and Queens Park Rangers.

The former Sunderland manager said: "We're in a horrible dogfight and there's eight or nine teams in with us who are all feeling it.

"The result against Manchester City gave everyone a lift at the right time and back-to-back wins against teams around us. How good that feels.

Nikica Jelavic scores for Hull against QPR (Getty)

"Two weeks ago we were in the bottom three and now we're four points clear, but we've got to maintain it.

"We're not out of the woods yet. If you can put another couple of results together at this particular stage of the season, it will really help."

Hull, who are four points above the drop zone, can use Stoke as their inspiration in the coming years, according to Bruce.

"Stoke and West Brom are two types of club we can take an example from.

"They're well run, they built their training grounds up and the infrastructure to go with it, and over the years they've steadily become established Premier League teams.

"That's something we can aspire to. The longer we're here, the better the squad becomes and the better facilities become."