HULL 2, WIGAN 1

HE stood up, put his hands in his pockets, walked to the touchline and proceeded to give Ibrahima Sonko a bit of advice on defending.

The singular, most important goal of Phil Brown's managerial career - topping even the play-off job from Dean Windass - and not a sniff of emotion.

All around Brown was wild celebration, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink sliding on his knees, team-mates jumping on his back, supporters feeling the weight of the world lifting off their's.

Not for their manager. Not this time.

No salutes to the crowd with his arms above his head, no mad dashes on to the pitch with headsets going flying, no microphones, no sunbeds. Nothing.

Just a moment when Brown put the emotional brakes on, let the adulation go around him.

Stood back from the immediate picture. Exited stage left.

And that, as much as anything else that happened yesterday, suggests neither his time at Hull, nor the club's in the Premier League, is over just yet.

It was a week that had to end in success, not just because of the league position, perilous though it looked yesterday morning, and not just because of the run of two wins in the calendar year.

It had to end in success because Brown sent his players to sit on the footballing equivalent of the naughty step.

He closed down the training ground canteen, turned off the coffee machine and made them fend for themselves.

Grumbling players were spotted on garage forecourts, in McDonald's, crowding into sandwich shops. Just to get their dinner. And a part of you screams 'Great, take away the luxuries of life, peer into the common man's lunch hour'.

But it was - and indeed still is - a huge gamble.

He took them along the Humber Bridge, when Sonko had to go back because of vertigo - which would explain his fear of high balls.

He talked a woman out of ending it all - by taking away her season ticket?

All easy shots to take.

But nothing compared to how simple it would have been to have taken aim at Brown if it had failed, if Hull had lost at home to Wigan, a side with the gusting wind in their sails following last week's victory against Chelsea.

Where then for Brown?

We won't know.

For yesterday his players reacted. They fought, took centre stage and eased huge relegation worries, as early as October.

Brown, in turn, watched and orchestrated, aware of where his own role was.

He was happy in the background.

He followed his midweek risks on the training ground by changing the personnel and the shape of his team.

It felt like his last stand.

But when Vennegoor of Hesselink struck on the hour, there was huge vindication, if not, thankfully, major indulgence. That it was a set-piece, a left-wing near-post corner that had been worked on, added to the moment.

When Hull, as a city, got some of their belief back.

That perhaps there could be a third chapter in their history in the big-time.

Dean Marney crossed from the left, Paul Scharner switched off for a fraction and that was enough for Vennegoor of Hesselink to head past keeper Chris Kirkland, low to his right.

His first goal since moving to England as a free agent when the transfer window was beginning to close. The relief was overwhelming.

Brown had even gambled with his starting XI.

He had a central defender, Kamil Zayatte, in the holding role, a left- winger, Kevin Kilbane, as a centre-half.

Both worked, although the sight of Zayatte galloping down the right eight minutes after the opening goal following an awful piece of defending from Emmerson Boyce was not, as the manager admitted, in the script.

The Guinea defender kept his head, dummied to cross and lost the hapless Boyce, before dinking a cross to Geovanni that was finished with aplomb.

Brazilian Geovanni remains Hull's key to survival. The little magician his manager calls him. They will need more tricks like the second goal.

Genuine relief this time, that a second home win in 2009 was on its way. Again, a subdued home manager.

Tellingly, the fans have stayed with him. After five minutes they called his name, after each goal the KC Stadium was alive.

When they hit the self-destruct button, with just three minutes of normal time remaining, there were no catcalls, just genuine resilience from the supporters.

A roar went up that there could be no more slip ups.

Defensively, for that 87th-minute goal, they had switched off, allowing Hugo Rodallega the time to find Jordi Gomez, whose shot was only parried by keeper Bo Myhill.

The ball bounced up to Scott Sinclair and his looping header offered hope, at the death, to a side who were unrecognisable to the one that saw off Chelsea 3-1 last week.

Manager Roberto Martinez talked glowingly of his side's possession, but there was little end product.

Given Hull's recent defensive frailties, they were rarely put under significant pressure.

Only twice in an opening 45 minutes that felt like Wigan's opportunity to turn the screw, did they go close.

Mohammed Diame saw an effort parried by Myhill that was eventually hacked to safety and Jason Scotland skipped past Kilbane before flashing a shot fractionally wide.

It looked little against Hull's efforts, especially when their nerves could have been calmed by a second-minute penalty, when Maynor Figueroa clearly blocked Nick Barmby's shot.

Mark Clattenburg ignored the appeal, but still Hull came, Marney denied by Kirkland, Barmby drilling an effort narrowly wide and Geovanni smashing a 30-yarder that was not a million miles away.

Vennegoor of Hesselink gave warning with a glancing header from a cross from Geovanni that beat Kirkland and then by the smallest of margins beat the post.

Hesselink scored, Geovanni scored. But at two-nil, the nerves kicked in. Big time.

Only then did Wigan assume the authority recent results suggest they should have had from the start.

Diame turned and shot over, five minutes of added time went up and panic set in.

And remember, we are still in October. Those final minutes felt like May, when the real pressure will be floating about.

Hull need their manager to stay calm.

Yesterday, he began the process.

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