• Hull chairman says Dowie has point to prove
• Manager happy to replace skiing with management

Iain Dowie has exchanged the controlled thrills of an indoor ski slope for English football’s equivalent of a black run. Hull City’s newly appointed manager today mothballed his new hobby to expose himself to the adrenaline highs of a relegation struggle deemed unacceptably risky by some of his peers.

“I’ve had three lessons at the ski slope and it’s the most exciting pastime I’ve ever tried, but this job is better,” said Dowie, who has been appointed for nine games with a review in the summer, as he stood on the KC Stadium’s pitch. “Mind you, I set speed records for going down backwards on my backside.”

Now many Hull fans fear a man who has been out of football since his dismissal as Alan Shearer’s assistant at newly relegated Newcastle United last summer, will similarly accelerate Hull’s descent towards the Championship.

Adam Pearson, the club’s chairman, believes such doom-mongers are mistaking lack of glamour for shortage of ability. “We’re not really looking for a manager with a wow factor or an ego or with a reputation to look after,” he said, perhaps rather pointedly. “We want someone with a point to prove and who is desperate to be the manager of this club, which Iain is. I understand fans want big names and we’d