Lewie Coyle impressed by Hull City's Premier League new boys

Having finished sixth in last season's Championship but beaten Middlesbrough in the play-off final after Southampton's expulsion, hopes were not high for how the Tigers would fare in their first top-flight campaign in a decade. Most pundits tipped them for relegation, some speculated they might threaten Derby County's record for the competition’s lowest points tally.

Instead, they went into the first international break of the season with eight points from the first five games – a fifth of the way to their target to stay up.

Defeat at Newcastle United was their first of the league campaign, and Manchester United have already been beaten, Aston Villa and Chelsea drawn with. Coventry City, another newly-promoted side tipped to struggle have also been beaten in what some billed a relegation six-pointer, even in August.

A point per game is a good target for clubs whose aim is to avoid relegation, and Hull unashamedly fall into that category. At the absolute worst they will not drop below it until Hallowe'en, when they play their third home match out of four.

It is all the more impressive because Coyle is one of 15 players used never to have played in the Premier League before.

The right-back, who has started all five games but only finished the most recent, admitted the transition has been difficult.

"It's tough," said the only Hull-born player in the first-team squad. "You only look at the level of opposition you're against every week.

"But it's an incredible experience and I feel like I've settled in nicely.

"There's a few of the other lads as well (experiencing) their first time up at this level.

"I think if you look at the core group that was here last year, there's a lot of them faces still in the starting line-up (seven or eight each game). So it's a nice balance we've got between that core and the new players that have added that quality.

"We're in a really nice spot and enjoying the Premier League."

Even the core, though, includes Coyle, Mohamed Belloumi, Matt Crooks and Regan Slater, doing it all for the first time in the world’s best domestic football league.

For players like that to keep expensively-recruited summer signings out of the XI has been some achievement, whilst the likes of Konstantinos Tzolakis have quickly enhanced the group.

"I'm very impressed with the lads,” said captain Coyle. "It was disappointing to lose at Newcastle but that's going to happen in the Premier League, especially this season.

"We went down 2-0 in a game away from home but the manner in which we responded is the thing that will stick with me.

"The highlight would probably be that first win at home against (Manchester) United. It’s always nice to get off to a good start and get that first win out of the way.

"It settles the lads, you're sure you can compete and play at this level. That would probably be up there.

"It's been good start overall.

"And of course, there's always stuff to work on."

Lucas Herrington made his first Premier League start at St James' Park only a fortnight after his 19th birthday, but the Australia centre-back has already demonstrated adaptability is one of his great strengths.

"I don't know about it being natural," he said whilst away on international duty last week.

"I've had to adapt to every single scenario, from Brisbane to Colorado, to the Socceroos, the EPL (Premier League). It's all different environments, different training environments.

"But at the end of the day, it's just football.

"I enjoy playing football so whenever I can I'm just going to put my best foot forward, work hard and just enjoy it."

One player who looked very capable of taking Hull's performances up another level is set to miss the first matches after the international break.

Midfielder Tim Iroegbunam, who made 60 Premier League appearances for Aston Villa and Everton before joining in the summer, impressed as a second-half substitute at Newcastle in the Tigers' last match, but has picked up an injury.

Iroegbunam was a signing Hull took a punt on despite injury issues which meant his long-trailed move did not happen until deadline day. The issue in pre-season was with his groin, and the 23-year-old is now expected to miss much of October, according to reports, after aggravating it.

Hull's next game is at home to his previous club Everton on October 11.

Hull also chose to sign striker Elias Ansah despite his medical highlighting the previously unknown problem.

Ansah is yet to make his debut, and is due to see a specialist about the problem towards the end of the international break.