Hull City have made an eye-catching return to the Premier League, collecting seven points from their opening three fixtures and keeping a clean sheet in each of them, a run that has left head coach Sergej Jakirovic fielding half-joking questions about a possible European push.
"Maybe expect to fight for a Champions League place?" Jakirovic said when asked about the club's start, before quickly clarifying, "No, of course it is early."
The Tigers sit just two points behind Manchester City in the early standings after victories over Michael Carrick's Manchester United and fellow promoted club Coventry City, followed by a goalless draw against Europa League winners Aston Villa at the MKM Stadium on Saturday. It is a striking turnaround for a side that only avoided dropping into League One last season on goal difference.
Defender John Egan believes the fast start has given the squad a psychological lift as they adapt to the step up in quality. "It's huge for our confidence coming up into the Premier League," Egan told Sky Sports. "The start is important. We got the win the first day [against Manchester United] and I think that gave everyone confidence."
History suggests Hull's opening results carry real significance. No promoted club has ever been relegated after taking at least seven points from its first three Premier League matches, and across the competition's history only three sides overall — Wolves in 2011-12, West Brom in 2017-18 and Leeds United in 2022-23 — have gone down after such a start, a mere four per cent of the 78 teams to have managed it.
Jakirovic's rise with Hull has been rapid. The former Bosnia international took charge before last season despite the club operating under a transfer embargo that restricted him to free transfers and loan deals, yet still led Hull to the play-offs. They defeated a Millwall side that had finished 10 points above them in the table, before Oli McBurnie's stoppage-time goal against Middlesbrough sealed promotion.
This summer, Hull were far from cautious in the transfer market, bringing in 18 new players for a combined outlay of around £150m, with six of those arrivals, including £22m Everton midfielder Tim Iroegbunam, completed on deadline day. Jakirovic signed a new two-year contract on Friday, extending his stay at the club.
"I know the core of my team. This is the Championship players," Jakirovic said. "We brought the players in to put some quality there. The big problem for me is who didn't have a pre-season. This is a very big problem. But we will try. For example, on Tuesday [against Sunderland in the Carabao Cup], we will use that to give minutes, and at the end they will get a new chance."
Defensively, Hull have been nearly impenetrable, becoming only the third side since the Premier League's inception — after Charlton in 1998-99 and Huddersfield Town in 2017-18 — to keep clean sheets in each of their first three matches following promotion. Egan credited the team's preparation and unity for the record. "The work goes into it on the training pitch," he said. "It probably started in the play-offs when we moved to that shape. We have a lot of experience and it all helps. We've got a lot of lads who want to work together, defend for each other, and so far, so good."
Hull have also embraced a low-possession approach, holding just 29 per cent of the ball on average this season — the lowest of any Premier League side and the smallest figure over an opening three games since West Ham's 27 per cent in 2023-24.
Despite the promising numbers, Jakirovic is wary of reading too much into three matches, pointing out that Coventry, last season's Championship winners, have yet to pick up a point. "This is a great result for us," he said after the draw with Villa. "Seven points. Three games. Clean sheet. Let's move on. Our goal is to collect the points. I think around 38-40 points, so as soon as possible to get these points."
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.