Hull City boss Steve Bruce has shrugged off defeat to Everton.
Bruce has cited next weekend's FA Cup final appearance as a distraction in recent weeks and returned to the theme once more as he explained another tepid showing.
"It looks as if we've been enjoying the FA Cup for too long in my opinion and it's been difficult since we won the semi-final at Wembley to keep everyone's attention on the Premier League," he said.
"If we're honest we've been safe for weeks and we've never been in real relegation trouble but it has been very difficult for the last month or so because everyone has been talking about the FA Cup.
"My biggest disappointment is the way we've finished...we've limped along and some of the performances have not been us."
