Hull City boss Steve Bruce has insisted that his side can take a great deal of confidence from their recent performances, as they head into the final stretch of the campaign.

The Tigers have lost just two of their last seven league outings since the start of February, in a run which includes a 1-1 draw away at champions Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium and a narrow 3-2 defeat by Chelsea.

It was that team display against the Blues, coming after Hull had initially battled back from an early two-goal deficit, which Bruce will look to replicate in the final throes of the season.

"The way we've played over the last few weeks, the performances have been good," FourFourTwo quotes the 54-year-old as saying. "Sometimes you don't get the result, and we were close to getting a result against Chelsea so we have to take that into the next eight games. The tickly bit's here."

Bruce also revealed that midfielder Mohamed Diame has overcome a long-term knee injury in time to feature in the closing weeks of the season, while Wales international James Chester is also nearing full fitness.

Hull are currently three points clear of the Premier League relegation zone ahead of their meeting with Swansea City this weekend.