Hull have slipped back six weeks in their efforts to improve, according to defender Tommy Elphick.

Losing 2-0 at home to Nottingham Forest left Nigel Adkins' team second from bottom and brought an abrupt end to an encouraging three-game unbeaten run.

The Tigers have been much more competitive in the last two months, holding Middlesbrough to a draw and narrowly losing to Leeds and Sheffield United, before 1-0 wins at Bolton and at home against West Brom, and a 3-3 draw at Birmingham.

'It felt like we've gone back six weeks and we need to draw a line under quickly to move on,' Elphick said ahead of Tuesday night's clash with league leaders Norwich City at the KCom Stadium.

'We need to get back to the performances against West Brom and the second half at Birmingham. The thing that gets you up this division is consistency, not only individually but as a team.

'That's why we are where we are, because we're just throwing a wobbler in like that every now and then. We need to put this game to bed, learn from it and move on to another tough game.'

Hull's opener came after a horrible slice at the ball from centre-back partner Jordy de Wijs, allowing Lewis Grabban to score in the 61st minute, before Joe Lolley made it 2-0 three minutes later.

Speaking to the Hull Daily Mail, Elphick continued: 'Jordy has got everything to be a top, top centre-half. Physically and technically he's very good. He'll get there.

'I've been there myself when you're young. You seem to make a few mistakes and you get punished for it. The thing that gets you to the top is consistency and doing the basics right.

'The manager hammers on about that and little things like that are what we need to cut out of our game. The position that Jordy plays, you don't get a chance to make a mistake when you've got strikers like Grabban. They're on the prowl and waiting to pounce.

'But there was so much more to that defeat than just one mistake. We were way too passive. There was plenty that went on before that, let's not get too hung up on the mistake. The whole performance wasn't good enough.'

• You can watch highlights of Hull's defeat to Forest above