Brown takes the positives

The Tigers were brought crashing back down to earth following an unbeaten start to life in the Barclays Premier League as the Latics ran riot at the KC Stadium.

"It's a tough one to swallow. I didn't think the gulf in the two teams was five goals." said Brown.

He added: "Everybody tells you about the Premier League and what it's going to be like, and Wigan have had five shots on target and beaten us 5-0.

"Was that the gulf in class? I say to myself no. At half-time Hull City were beating Hull City. We slipped up at a set-piece at one end and we slipped up from a set-piece at the other end. That was a little detail that was the difference between the two teams and that gives me a little bit of hope."

Despite the comfortable margin of victory, Steve Bruce was adamant his side's display was their worst of the season to date.

"We're only three games in of course but, arguably, it's the worst we've played. It sounds stupid enough, but it is," said Bruce.

Bruce, who revealed Kevin Kilbane will face a couple of weeks on the sidelines after suffering a fractured cheekbone, reserved special praise for Antonio Valencia, who netted the second goal, and two-goal Amr Zaki.

"I thought the outstanding player on the pitch was Valencia. He had a fantastic match," added the Latics boss.

"Zaki is doing what we thought he could do and all those trips to Cairo have proved worthwhile. We hope that we've unearthed one there and we hope he keeps doing what he does, which would be fantastic for us."