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NOBODY gave them a chance. Many doubted Hull City's credentials in the Championship, let alone the Premier League. And prior to the start of this season, the Tigers were tipped for a fate similar to Derby County - who finished last season rock bottom with just 11 points. But how wrong they were. We are only seven games into the season and Hull have already surpassed the amount of points it took Derby 38 games to accumulate. A total of 42 points has long been considered a sufficient haul to guarantee survival. Last year, for instance, Fulham maintained their Premier League status with 36. So if one takes these yardsticks as a measure of the targets Hull need to match, then they are already a third of their way there, with less than a sixth of the season completed. How are they achieving this? Especially with a backbone of mainstay players who were competing in the lower leagues for the majority of their careers not so long ago? We look at some of their success factors: LARGE SQUAD HULL City have an abnormally large squad, and manager Phil Brown has already used 22 players in only 630 minutes of football. Daniel Cousin for instance, who ensured Hull left the Emirates with all three points two weeks ago, was only making his third appearance of the season against Tottenham on Sunday. A policy of rotation is oft bemoaned for a club harbouring ambitions of winning titles. But are freshness and eagerness commodities that are more valuable for a squad trying to steer clear of the drop zone? TACTICS BROWN is a bold and brave head coach. Not many would change a winning tactic, but Brown's approach to the Arsenal encounter was tactically impeccable. Instead of fielding his 4-4-2 that secured a win over Newcastle United at St James' Park and a draw against Everton at home, Brown opted instead to deploy Brazilian Geovanni in the hole behind his two strikers, in a 4-3-3 against Arsenal. Hull's midfield trio snuffed out most of Arsenal's attacks, and it produced what must surely be one of the greatest results in their history. Theo Walcott was largely ineffective as he was not allowed to run the lines like he has in the past, instead being forced to cut inside, where a waiting pack of defenders - led by Michael Turner - would block his path. Brown admitted that he was told fielding Geovanni could be a suicidal tactic, but it proved to be match-winning one, and not for the first time as he secured the three points - from outside the box - against Fulham, too. Against Tottenham on Sunday, Geovanni continued his scoring run by scoring the early winner. DETERMINATION THE ONLY blemish on Hull's results so far has been a 5-0 mauling by Wigan Athletic, where a usually solid defence was ripped apart time after time . To Hull's credit, they learnt from their defensive mistakes and have kept clean sheets against Arsenal and Tottenham. Said Brown after the Spurs game: 'I thought we defended manfully again. We kept our shape, kept our discipline and kept our work-rate high. TEAM SPIRIT BROWN is proud of his team's record and puts it all down to the togetherness and spirit in the squad. 'It's about togetherness,' he said. 'When we come away, we're all together and and you can see the spirit even though we've got 10 or 11 new players. 'There's a togetherness there that doesn't want to get beat. 'We've got winners in the camp and we have more winners this year than when we finished third in the Championship last season.' Wire Services
DO YOU KNOW? ACCORDING to Fifa, Hull City's rise from the bottom division to England's top tier is the third fastest ever recorded. Their five-year charge rising through 84 positions in the football league - from fifth bottom in League Two to sixth from top in the Premier League is bettered only by Swansea City (1977-81), and Wimbledon (1982-86).
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