Not only that, but in the vast majority of those seasons at least one – and in 1997-98 both – of the clubs who had gone up automatically lasted just one year among the elite with another five only extending their stay by a further 12 months.

Such cold, hard facts underline the immense task facing not only the Tigers this season, but also Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion as the newly-promoted trio look to plot a path to Premier League safety.

Two men who appreciate more than most the tremendous challenge that lays ahead for everyone at the KC Stadium are Danny Wilson and Geoffrey Richmond.

Both have experienced the wide-ranging emotions that will be racing through the bodies of City manager Phil Brown and chairman Paul Duffen ahead of this weekend's big kick-off, Wilson having led Barnsley into the top flight for the first time ever in 1997 and Richmond being at the helm of Bradford City a couple of years later when they returned to the elite for the first time in almost eight decades.

The two Yorkshire clubs' first season in the Premier League may have ended in contrasting fortunes – the Tykes going down and the Bantams staying up – but both men are in firm agreement over what will be the key factor in deciding Hull's fate in the coming months. Belief.

Wilson, now in charge of League One side Hartlepool United, said: "It inevitably takes time to find your feet after promotion and for the players to really believe they belong in the Premier League. In our case, that probably took around three months – which was just too long.

"The opening day of that season was a big lesson for everyone. We were up against West Ham, who had not had the best of times the season before, and with the game being at Oakwell a lot of people expected us to chalk up our first home win. But, of course, it didn't turn out like that (Barnsley lost 2-1).

"It showed everyone that nothing could be taken for granted and although we won a couple of early games (against Crystal Palace and Bolton), I feel it took a full three months for a real sense of belief to develop. Before that happened, we were losing a few games heavily but once a true belief had become evident, even the games we lost were usually only by the odd goal.

"In the end, we went down by four points, which might not sound a lot. But in the Premier League it is a massive gap and I still believe those first three months were a big factor."

Unlike Barnsley, Bradford won that initial fight for survival after a late season surge of form that saw Paul Jewell's side lose just one of their last five games to leapfrog over Wimbledon on a dramatic final day.

Richmond, who spent eight years in charge at Valley Parade before leaving in 2002 after the club had slid into administration amid crippling debts, is no longer involved in football but looks back fondly on the season that has since become known in Bradford as the 'Great Escape'.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Post from his home in Leeds, the former Bantams chairman said: "There are plenty of parallels from when Bradford went up to Hull's promotion because we had not been in the top flight for 77 years, while this will be Hull's first ever season up there.

"Hull have joined what is, with the probable exception of the NFL in American Football, the most successful sports league in the world and I am sure they will love every minute.

"After our promotion had been sealed at Wolves on the final day, the Bradford fans were walking on air all summer and there was a real buzz about the city. It was a wonderful time, even though we did not have the best of close seasons in terms of results and because certain agents were demanding huge contracts for their clients."

Bradford, like Hull this summer, were quickly dismissed by the pundits as a one-year novelty act, but thanks to that profitable late surge of form and a relatively low points tally being enough to survive, Paul Jewell's battling side beat the odds to stay in the top flight.

Richmond recalls: "The key factor for any promoted team is to develop a firm belief because survival is won as much in the mind as on the pitch. And the lead has to come from the manager and senior players.

"The younger pros will lean heavily on the manager and that is why it is vital he stays upbeat and positive on the outside, no matter how nervous and negative he feels on the inside.

"We beat Middlesbrough on the opening day but it was not until a 3-1 win at home to Leicester (in October) that I sensed a genuine air of belief.

"The club clung to that through what was, at times, a bleak winter in terms of results and then we had what was our most important result of all, a
1-0 win at Sunderland on Easter Monday. At a vital time, it reinforced that belief and we thrashed Wimbledon 3-0 the following week at Valley Parade when John Hartson behaved like a madman and was sent off.

"We had a major disappointment (in losing 3-0) at Leicester on the penultimate game but the players' retained their belief to beat Liverpool on the final day and stay up."

Like Bradford in 1999 and Barnsley two years earlier, a palpable sense of excitement has been building in Hull throughout the summer with fans clamouring to buy season tickets.

The Tigers eventually had to cap the figure at 20,500 and the KC Stadium is likely to be packed throughout the coming season, which Wilson believes will be an important advantage.

The former Barnsley manager said: "The thing I remember more than anything from that season in the Premier League is the Barnsley fans.

"They were determined to enjoy themselves, even if it only lasted for a season.

"The fans retained a tremendous humour that season, singing things like 'we're going to win 5-4' if we were 4-0 down. That unswerving support was important because if the fans ever get disappointed in a relegation battle then the game really is up.

"But I am sure the Hull fans will approach the season in exactly the same way the Barnsley fans did, determined to enjoy what is certain to be a rollercoaster of a season and get behind their team 100 per cent."

Tigers confirm King loan deal and Gardner signing.