PLYMOUTH Argyle head coach Miron Muslic could not hide his disappointment after watching his side slip to a 2-0 defeat at Hull City in the Sky Bet Championship.

Tuesday’s loss means the Pilgrims remain firmly in the relegation zone, now six point adrift of safety, and in desperate need of victories to preserve their status within the division.

Second half goals from Joe Gelhardt and Abu Kamara condemned Muslic’s side to a 17th league loss – and helped Hull themselves edge further clear of the drop zone with just 11 games of the season to go.

“We simply didn’t show up in a game where we knew that this is a big one for us,” said the Argyle boss afterwards. “We were sloppy from the start, we could not even get close to the performance of the last couple of weeks.

“That’s a problem we have, too many players that cannot deliver consistently the performances we need to be competitive. I think today we have been far, far away from anything.”

Argyle’s display was a far cry from much of what they have produced under Muslic, who has been in charge of the club since January following the departure of Wayne Rooney.

This was, however, a step back and with games fast running out and goals at a premium it seems, Muslic needs to find answers quick, particularly on the road where Argyle’s last league win came 11 months ago at Rotherham United.

“It was sloppy from minute one until the end and we can’t afford to be sloppy, we can’t throw away games and unfortunately after this nice adventure against Manchester City we simply didn’t show up tonight. I’m very disappointed.

“We tried everything to prepare the lads best possible. We worked backwards from Hull City. Maybe it was the wrong decision.

“I know we played a fantastic game a couple of days ago but the reality is the Championship and the reality is fighting for every inch on the pitch, and I think we just missed this today completely.

“That’s why I’m very much disappointed because we showed a lot of this character and efforts the last couple of weeks and that’s why we have been able to collect points.

“It’s not about changing the players, we have to change the mentality and switch on. In the Championship it’s fight, it’s physical, it’s duels. I think we showed it in an excellent way over the last couple of weeks, and we didn't show it tonight. If we don’t show it we don’t have the quality to compete.”

Argyle are next in action this Saturday when they welcome Sheffield Wednesday to Home Park (3pm).