Hull manager Steve Bruce cut a desperately disappointed figure after seeing his side slide deep into relegation trouble after a 1-0 home defeat to Burnley.
The Tigers, who have tough games against Tottenham and Manchester United to come, are two points behind Newcastle.
Bruce said his dismay was heightened by the fact that recent back-to-back wins over Crystal Palace and Liverpool had made him believe survival was in the Tigers' own hands.
"If we're being honest, we were nowhere near in all the departments that are required to go out and win a match of this magnitude," he added.
"Whether we were nervous or edgy or tense I don't know, but it was certainly a frustrating day all round. We were a shadow of the team that played a week ago, which is the hardest thing to take."
Bruce saw his side twice come close when Robbie Brady hit the bar with long-range free-kicks, while there was also some misfortune about the Danny Ings winner that came when Michael Dawson was on the touchline with a nosebleed.
Bruce added: "I'm not going to make an excuse, but it's an absolutely ludicrous rule -- there was a tiny speck of blood that could have been wiped away with a handkerchief.
"He's got a tiny nosebleed and he's a big tough centre-half who wants to be in the middle of the six-yard box to head it clear."