Hull boss Phil Brown confident pressure is off his team - and all on Gianfranco Zola's West Ham

Phil Brown claims the pressure has eased on Hull ahead of their relegation showdown with West Ham.

Brown says his Tigers are on a high after their last-gasp win over Stoke kept him in a job and saw them climb out of the bottom three above the Hammers.

He hopes that huge result will be a turning point in Hull's season and pointed to their 2-2 friendly draw against Atalanta in Italy last week as further evidence of a new belief at the KC Stadium.

Just one point separates 17th-placed Hull and 18th-placed West Ham, and Brown wants his players to increase that gap to four by Saturday evening.

"I think since beating Stoke we're seeing less pressure, but more confidence where the players are concerned," said the Hull manager.

"When you ask the players to play football, you have to play with confidence and we are seeing a little more confidence.

"Hopefully we can carry that into the West Ham game and get another good result."

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink's late winner over the Potters has also eased the pressure on Brown and bought him more time on Humberside.

Instead, it is Gianfranco Zola who will be under the spotlight on Saturday at the KC because his Hammers are fighting for their lives.

Zola has turned for inspiration to last season when he turned around West Ham's nosedive down the table after taking over.

This weekend will mark the anniversary of the Londoners' key victory at Sunderland, which ended their woeful run of seven matches without a win.

Zola inspired a rally in the second half of the campaign, which carried the Hammers to ninth place, and hopes beating Hull could ignite this season in the same way.

The little Italian is trying to remain calm as he deals with this crisis and claims he still believes his players can get themselves - and him - out of trouble.

"Am I worried?," he said. "No. Because I think we can certainly improve the situation.

"I am concerned obviously, as is everyone around West Ham, but we are going to fight until the end. We want to find the solutions and find them as quick as possible.

"I'm confident and I trust the players. I believe they are the best in the Premier League for me. We are determined to make a difference, so that is the point."

Zola insists his players have the ability and the right attitude to start climbing the table.

"Their attitude, which is probably the most important thing, is right and that is a guarantee," he said.

"We can do it. But we must all, including myself, look for solutions for solving our problems.

"A team that plays as well as we do has to get more points, so there are a lot of things for us to work on."