• Club face £21m shortfall if they drop into Championship
• Hull have five on shortlist but not Alan Curbishley

Hull City’s parlous financial state prompted Adam Pearson to gamble on sacking Phil Brown today in a desperate bid to avoid a potentially ruinous relegation to the Championship.

Pearson, the Hull chairman, intends to name Brown’s successor by Wednesday, affording the new manager time to work with the squad ahead of the vital game at Portsmouth on Saturday.

After a failed attempt to persuade Alan Curbishley to relocate to the KC