Hull boss Phil Brown admits Jimmy Bullard has provided his side with just the spark they needed.

Brown has had to wait most of the year for the chance to name the £5million club record signing in his starting line-up due to a serious knee injury.

Bullard required major surgery after injuring himself on debut in January and did not start a game until the defeat of Stoke a fortnight ago.

The 31-year-old was a clear man of the match in that 2-1 victory and his influence was again significant as the Tigers came from 2-0 down in a 3-3 draw with West Ham.

Those last two results have eased the pressure on Brown, who was reported to be just one bad result away from the sack prior to the Stoke encounter.

Brown said: "I take it back to when we were in the Championship and we brought in Jay-Jay Okocha.

"He was a catalyst for good football, he was a catalyst for the way we played in a lot of games.

"Jimmy is not Jay-Jay Okocha by any stretch of the imagination, but he is the same kind of character.

"He brings a belief even in tight situations and a trust, and I think that trust is spreading.

"That's five goals in two games now and hopefully that belief with the ball is coming back."

Hull looked to be falling back into the bottom three yesterday after conceding headed goals to Guillermo Franco and Jack Collison inside the opening 11 minutes at the KC Stadium.

But a twice-deflected Bullard free-kick, the final touch coming off Carlton Cole, gave the Tigers a route back into the game.

Kamil Zayatte then volleyed in a superb equaliser on 43 minutes and Bullard completed a remarkable turnaround before the break by smashing in a penalty after Craig Fagan went to ground.

But the sending off of Bernard Mendy for denying Scott Parker a clear goalscoring opportunity swung momentum back in the Hammers' favour and Manuel da Costa stabbed in an equaliser.

"It was a very good game for the neutral, nerve-racking for the players and fans but very enjoyable to play," said Hull midfielder Stephen Hunt, who felt the match was just what he needed after a difficult week.

Although he did not actually play, Hunt was involved with the Republic of Ireland side controversially beaten by France in the World Cup qualifying play-offs on Wednesday.

He said: "I didn't get on so I was more disappointed that I couldn't affect it.

"That was probably in the back of me head. I just came straight back after the game and I was looking forward to the game, to get the cobwebs off."

Hunt feels the team are still playing for Brown, who will remain under scrutiny with City still hovering around the bottom three.

"We have a job to do, we are professional players," he said. "We have a responsibility to go out and perform for him.

"I think everyone stuck to the gameplan and, like the last game, we could have got more rewards."

West Ham also still have much to do to ensure their season is not going to prove a long struggle against relegation.

Manager Gianfranco Zola accepts results need to improve but he remains satisfied with performances and is convinced his team will soon start to climb the table.

The Italian said: "Obviously we are not in a position where we can say we are going for the Champions League but it is still early days.

"I accept it is not a very good position. We are aware of that but there is a long way to go.

"The team is playing well and we are not very far from picking up victories instead of draws or defeats.

"I keep the confidence up. I think we have got good players in the squad.

"We just need to improve certain things and we are going to be all right.

"I know we need to focus on defending better, I am aware of that.

"The good thing is we are scoring a lot of goals this year."