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.”
Vardy eyes 100-point season after Leicester's title win
Jamie Vardy has challenged his Leicester City team-mates to reach 100 points after sealing the Championship title with one game to spare.
The Foxes were promoted back to the Premier League without kicking a ball after Leeds United’s 4-0 defeat to QPR on Friday, but they needed to win on Monday to earn top spot.
Enzo Maresca’s side cruised to a 3-0 victory over Preston through Vardy’s brace and Kasey McAteer’s header, moving them to 97 points.
With one last milestone in their reach, Vardy wants to make sure they end an already successful season on a high.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “We can celebrate it tonight, but now we have another target which is 100 points.
“We are over the moon. It has gone by quick but it's a graft. Not many days off, I'll tell you that.
“The lads - they've given it all. Thoroughly deserved, and I'm glad we've had 5000 to come and celebrate with us. It's not like it's 20 minutes up the road."
After a run of just three victories from nine games in the league between mid-February and April, Leicester have now won each of their last three outings.
Maresca has praised his players for their hard work in what he labelled a “tough season”.
“Fantastic, it's been a fantastic season. The Championship is a tough season and very intense, but I'm very happy," said Maresca.
"Now it's time to enjoy the work of the season to bring this special club back to the Premier League. We deserve it.
“The last two days they have been fantastic. We got promoted, but it was difficult in game preparation. But we used all of today to prepare for the game, the morning and afternoon. It was good.”
Barcelona 4-2 Valencia: Lewandowski hat-trick leads Barca to 4-2 win over 10-man Valencia
Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski scored a second-half hat-trick to help his side fight back to claim a hard-fought 4-2 win over Valencia, who were leading 2-1 when they were reduced to 10 men just before the break.
Fermin Lopez's header from a Raphinha cross put Barca in front after 22 minutes, but Valencia's Hugo Duro struck in the 27th and Pepelu scored from the spot after a foul by Ronald Araujo 11 minutes later to give the visitors the lead.
But after Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili saw red for a handball outside the box before the break, Xavi's side dominated and Lewandowski scored with two headers from corners in the 49th and 82nd minutes before getting his treble with a free-kick in added time.
The win postponed Real Madrid's almost inevitable LaLiga title celebrations for a couple of weeks as Carlo Ancelotti's side sit atop the standings on 84 points.
Barcelona moved back to second in LaLiga on Monday with 73 points as they leapfrogged surprise package Girona, who are third with 71. Those two teams will meet in a Catalonia derby on Saturday.
Data debrief
Barcelona conceded two goals in the first half of a home game for the second time this season, after also doing so against Girona in LaLiga in December 2023.
However, Lewandowski's goals have been invaluable to La Blaugrana this season as he's earned 17 points with his 16 goals in the league.
Preston 0-3 Leicester City: Foxes seal Championship title in style
Leicester City cruised to a 3-0 win over Preston in the Championship on Monday to clinch the title with a game to spare.
Jamie Vardy was the star for the Foxes as he scored in both halves before Kasey McAteer made sure of the points with an unmarked header.
Abdul Fatawu had the chance to cap an already memorable night for the travelling fans but hit the post with his curler.
Preston slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat, while Leicester go into their final game against Blackburn Rovers with the knowledge that they will lift the trophy after the final whistle.
Data Debrief
Jamie Vardy has scored 18 goals this season (two in this game), more than any other Leicester player in the competition. He has also netted in his last three games, scoring four goals in total.
It was a dominant performance from the Foxes, who had 19 shots with 11 of those on target. At the other end, Preston only managed to test Jakub Stolarczyk once from their five attempts.
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