Jon Dahl Tomasson stressed before the game he felt no pressure on his side in the race for a top six finish.

Try as Tomasson does to alleviate it however, it is only going to ramp up given the sequence of fixtures his side have to finish the season, and their stuttering results.

His players are clearly feeling it amid the growing tension, nervousness and anxiety that surrounds their current situation, something the head coach conceded.

"Each player is not used to this situation, we need to be honest about that," he said.

"It's a new situation and players who have been around the play-offs for a longer period or have gone to the Premier League, they have a different experience in those moments.

"Those are the facts. I think it did get to them in a couple of situations."

So while it is right that Rovers are ahead of schedule and have surprised many by being in the top six for such a sustained period, the development and progression so often spoken about shouldn’t simply focus on technical and tactical aspects.

Standards have been raised in so many ways, but that also needs to translate to the mentality of being ruthless when necessary to avoid being the nearly men once again.

That goes across the club, and were Rovers to miss out, there will be plenty of fingers pointed as a wasted January window.

Rovers have missed several opportunities to make a top six finish a formality, their return of two points from a possible 12 since the international break has afforded hope to the chasing pack.

It feels a mental barrier that Rovers must overcome, some of the squad still baring the scars of last season. The supporters definitely are.

Rovers’ decision-making was found wanting, particularly late on, as time and again they failed to make the most of some promising openings.

Players were urged to shoot, but were reluctant to do so, no-one taking responsibility infront of goal.

Apportioning blame on the January transfer window, and the failure to add another striker, feels an easy get-out, but turning to the hugely talented, but untried, Harry Leonard in such a pressure environment given what is at stake, wasn't the plan.

For the remainder of the season, with five of the top eight to play, Rovers are essentially playing a play-off group stage campaign, piling on the pressure that they must confront, not shy away from.

Producing in the pressure moments is what sets the proven and the potential apart, and it’s a step that Rovers have so far been unable to take.

When needing clarity of thought, at times they looked chaotic, and that nervous energy seeped onto the pitch from the stands.

They still have their destiny in their own hands, and the course of the next 10 days will determine so much, with Rovers facing two direct competitors for the play-offs, and their bitter rivals in what is their game in hand. 

There were some good moments in the first half that Rovers dominated, but they were sloppy at the start of the second half, a period that handed Hull the initiative and as the visitors grew in confidence.

They could easily have snatched all three points, but were good value for their one.

Rovers’ 62 per cent possession, and 14 efforts at goal, saw only two find the target, with Karl Darlow not overly extended in the Hull goal.

The best chance of the game saw Tyrhys Dolan side-foot wide of the near post when played in by Ben Brereton, but Allahyar Sayyadmanesh could lay claim to having gone the closest having flashed a shot narrowly wide of the post.

That came during Hull’s best period soon after the restart as Regan Slater flashed a shot wide.

It wasn’t until the final quarter that Rovers stepped things up again, but having camped themselves in the Hull half, they failed to break through the defensive line, not helped by the passing of responsibility when opportunities to have a go at goal presented themselves.

Leonard almost made a name for himself in injury time when he came within inches of turning in a cross from fellow sub Ryan Hedges, but Sorba Thomas putting two deliveries into the side-netting from promising positions somewhat summed up Rovers’ bid to break through.

Despite the same outcome with another point on the board, the feeling after this stalemate compared with the Huddersfield comeback couldn’t be more contrasting.

Tomasson has shown though that he will look ahead, not back, and that’s why he switched things up after Huddersfield. While it is hard not to compare and contrast, every game is different, and every approach changed accordingly.

While it was only one change, as Sam Gallagher replaced Adam Wharton, it was a significant one.

It saw Rovers move away from the three-man midfield that had worked well on Easter Monday, and Joe Rankin-Costello providing the width on the right rather than afforded the roaming role he was at Huddersfield.

Tomasson felt Rovers could exploit the space in behind, hence the use of an extra attacker, and there were moments early on when that almost paid off.

Yet Rovers lacked the same control of the ball, and much of their 62 per cent possession was in their own defensive third.

They have proven one of the best teams in the division at working the ball up the pitch, but it is where it matters most, at the top end, where they are yet to truly crack it, this the 13th time they have failed to find the back of the net in 41 league matches.

The point did at least keep them in the top six, having dropped out ahead of kick-off, and given their inferior goal difference they must stay one above their rivals.

Rovers relied on others slipping up in recent weeks, but given they play their nearest challengers in the coming week, they have their destiny in their own hands on two fronts.

They have, and can, play much better, but doing so when the stakes are raised is the challenge to avoid coming so near, but yet so far, once again.