Steve Bruce says Hull City have to “forget all about what’s gone before” as they seek to halt an alarming late-season sequence of results and beat Cardiff City tomorrow to secure the win that is certain to deny Watford automatic promotion to the Premier League.

The Tigers looked odds-on to secure second spot in the Championship after they recovered from their home defeat to the Hornets by recording back-to-back victories earlier last month. Since then though, Bruce’s side have failed to score in three successive matches against the bottom three sides in the division and picked up just one point in the process.

That has seen a seven-point gap over Gianfranco Zola’s men cut to one and with a significantly inferior goal difference, the Tigers know that if they slip up again tomorrow they may well be involved in the play-offs.

Looking ahead to tomorrow’s game, Bruce told the Hull Daily Mail: “We’ve got to treat it as a cup final. It’s a one-off game and we’ve got to forget about all what’s gone before.

“We’re still in a wonderful position and one more win will see us promoted regardless of what goes on elsewhere.

“It needs one big performance and it’s up to the players to go out there and show people what they’re made of.

“A huge game is just around the corner so there will be a bit of nervous tension, but it’s all about how you handle it now.

“You’ve got to cope with it in the right way and make sure we learn our lessons from the last couple of weeks.”