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Leonid Slutsky has not called much right during a disastrous run of form as Hull City head coach yet there was nothing wrong with a withering assessment of his squad at Bramall Lane.

“We don’t have a strong mentality and we don’t have a team spirit,” he said, wearing his now customary haunted expression.

The 2,018 travelling fans will have nodded in full agreement after the latest capitulation of a club relegated from the Premier League in May but it was another of Slutsky’s post-match admissions that raised a greater issue for the international break.

“We lost the faith, not for the first time, and really I don’t have the answer why,” he added.

And that is the concern. Slutsky, by his own admission, cannot see a way out of the hole he finds himself in as Hull City boss. There was not even an attempt to pretend otherwise.

A 4-1 loss to Sheffield United, with three goals conceded in the final 14 minutes, was the latest chapter in a season unravelling under Slutsky.

(Image: Getty Images)

Although there was brief hope given by Kamil Grosicki’s spectacular opener, four goals from Leon Clarke made it another harrowing afternoon for the Russian.

As three straight defeats makes clear, City are rapidly being found out in the Championship. Opponents are willing to work harder and tests of character invariably bring collapses. The Tigers are fragile and no-one in this division handles them with care.

The latest setback, an eighth defeat in 14 league games, was the epitome of what this team has become. Amid the moments of promise from individuals, there was a team with stark collective failings. Sheffield United, by contrast, were made formidable by their unity.

They harried and harassed City under the barked instructions of Chris Wilder and got their rewards with a climb up to second in the Championship. A rise that began with the League One title last season is built upon that willingness to run an extra yard.

Only one of these Yorkshire rivals can hope to be challenging for promotion come May and it is not the club that surrendered its top-flight place just six months ago.

The uncertainty over Slutsky’s position has inevitably intensified after such an abject late collapse.

An overhauled squad no longer appears motivated by his methods or fearful of the recriminations that defeats bring.

They might have played for their head coach for one half but certainly not the second. Only Allan McGregor’s heroics, a recurring theme in this season, prevented humiliation for City.

Slutsky suggested on the eve of this fixture that he would be given time to turn things around but the nature of this surrender should have been noted by owners allowing their club to drift.

This is now the lowest City have been throughout the reign of the Allam family. Not since November 2010, a month before their takeover was completed, have the Tigers occupied a slot as low as 20th in the Championship and the fear leaving Bramall Lane is that the slide could yet continue.

Just two places and four points are keeping heads above the rising waters of the relegation zone. The suspicion is that there will be three worse clubs but that can a dangerous assumption. A defensive line that has now been breached 30 times in 16 games – the second worst record in the division – tells us that City are not too good for a scrap.

If Slutsky can cling to the smallest positives through the international break, it was the first-half performance of his side. Although it needed two brilliant saves from McGregor to deny Billy Sharp and Clarke, the Tigers matched a host that previously won six of their seven home games this season.

And they held a half-time lead for good measure. Grosicki, restored to the starting XI after his midweek omission, appeared to have little on deep inside the United half but cutting in off his left flank, an arrowed right-foot drive from 25 yards out was too good for Simon Moore in the Blades’ goal.

(Image: Focus Images)

City should have had a penalty, too. Fraizer Campbell, the one outfield player to rise above the malaise, ran at the United defence before an attempted ball through was pushed away by Jake O’Connell’s left hand. Neither referee nor assistant spotted what should have been a clear decision.

The Tigers’ advantage never felt secure after that. Jarrod Bowen headed a John Fleck free-kick off the line at the end of the first half and the unrelenting pressure applied from the visitors saw McGregor again keep out Clarke with another outstanding save.

The dam would eventually break in the 53rd minute as United deservedly drew themselves level with the first of Clarke’s four goals.

(Image: Focus Images)

A routine attack down the Tigers’ left ended with Cameron Carter-Vickers crossing low and, nipping ahead of Fikayo Tomori, Clarke poked the ball beyond McGregor.

City had sniffs of a second on the counter attack but a host yet to draw this season were not resting on their equaliser. Both Sharp and Clarke fluffed chances inside the Tigers box but the collapse began with 14 minutes to play.

Once Tomori was lured out of defence to close down Mark Duffy, Kevin Stewart failed to track the run of Clarke in behind. A simple pass sent in the journeyman forward and his dinked finish was perfect.

(Image: Focus Images)

An inexperienced defence offered scant protection from midfield duly folded from that point.

Sharp crossed for Clarke to tower above Max Clark at the back post to complete his hat-trick and then inflicted further suffering on City with the ugliest goal of them all.

A trip from Michael Dawson and Tomori’s block back into the forward’s path allowed Clarke roll in an excruciatingly simple finish.

“We are broken after each goal,” said Slutsky, repeating his assessment of a 3-1 defeat to Middlesbrough four days earlier. “Everyone trains really hard but, on the pitch after the first mistake, we played like mannequins.”

That would suggest City stand still but this is undeniably a team going backwards.