'We've shown we shouldn't be down there' - McLoughlin

Defender Sean McLoughlin wants Hull City to show they are too good for the lower reaches of the Championship in their final 11 games of the season.

The 28-year-old - deployed at left-back of late by Ruben Selles - helped set up the opening goal as the Tigers beat Plymouth Argyle 2-0 on Tuesday to end a six-match winless streak at home in all competitions.

"Obviously, we haven't been great at home this season, it's been frustrating for everybody, for us, for the fans," McLoughlin told BBC Radio Humberside:

"It was important that we got that win, a clean sheet and a good performance.

"It was a game we knew going into that it was a massive one we needed to win. It puts a bit of breathing space between us and the bottom three. The main thing for us is kicking on and following that result up."

The Tigers took one point from their final two games last season to finish seventh and miss the play-offs, leading to Liam Rosenior's departure and a turbulent campaign in the lower reaches of the table this term.

"We need to just consistently train well, keep our minds focused, and the results will come," McLoughlin said.

"We've had some massive results in recent weeks, obviously some disappointing ones too, but I think people can see the quality is there.

"We showed the other night we shouldn't be down that end of the table. The reality is we are there."

He added: "It's obviously been a frustrating season for everybody – especially coming off the back of last season. It's not somewhere we want to be, the position we find ourselves in, but that's the Championship, teams fluctuate.

"Consistency is the main thing. You can see what one good result does to the table.

"If we can follow that up with another three points we'll start to put a bit of daylight between us and the teams below. If we can be consistent until the end of the season I think we'll finish in a good place."