City know they must improve if they're to kickstart their season in midweek
Barry Cooper Hull City correspondent
09:00, 23 Feb 2026Updated 09:18, 23 Feb 2026
Joe Gelhardt was back on the scoresheet at the weekend
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Joe Gelhardt was back on the scoresheet at the weekend (Image: Tony King/Getty Images)
Joe Gelhardt pulled no punches in his assessment of Hull City's 3-1 defeat to QPR on Saturday, and says it's important the Tigers look to put it right on Tuesday night.
City were well beaten by a QPR side who arrived in East Yorkshire with just one win in their last 10 away trips, leaving Sergej Jakirovic's men to face up to the prospect of a third consecutive home game without victory, despite Gelhardt's first goal of 2026 which dragged them level before the break.
Attention for the Tigers now turns to the visit of Derby County in midweek, as they play their fifth and final home game in a busy run of back-to-back MKM Stadium outings.
Like City, the Rams were beaten on Saturday, going down to a 2-0 loss at Watford, but for the Tigers it's a night where things must be put right, according to Gelhardt.
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"It's nice to get a goal, but you've got to think about the team, and I wish that it just came with three points," a frustrated Gelhardt told Hull Live. "We know it wasn't good enough, so we'll try and put it right on Tuesday.
"That's football. Every game in this league is hard. We know that as players. It's a disappointing result, and it's going to be another tough game on Tuesday, so we've got to be ready enough for the challenge."
The Rams, who had been in sparkling form on the road before that loss at Vicarage Road, are six points behind the Tigers and know victory in East Yorkshire would halve that gap.
City, meanwhile, could regain some momentum and give itself greater breathing space in the midst of a hectic period of seven games in 21 days.
"We know as players how big that game is, with the league. We want to get out of this slump that we're in as well, as players, we want to get back to winning games, so we'll do everything we can to put it right on Tuesday."
The state of the MKM Stadium pitch has been a cause for concern, but Gelhardt says it can't be used as an excuse for anything, and the players have to adapt.
"It's not ideal for us players, but I think we've all played on pitches like that in our careers, so it's not really an excuse. They (QPR) played on it as well. It's not like it was just us. It's not ideal, especially when we want to play football, but we've got to deal with it. As players, we can't make it an excuse."
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