AS a player at Hull City, Andy Dawson considered himself to be fortunate to learn from the very best, in his eyes, regarding the most important aspect of being a football manager.

Namely dealing with people. Man management.

Dawson’s working life under both Phil Brown and Steve Bruce is a time he looks back at with fondness. He was part of their promotion-winning squads to the Premier League in 2007-08 and 2012-13 respectively.

Crucially, it also had a profound effect upon him in terms of his “second career” in football in the dug-out.

HELPING HAND: Andy Dawso has stepped in once more as interim head coach for Hull City, with Tim Walter having paid the price for a poor start to the club's Championship campaign when he sacked on Wednesday night. Picture: George Wood/Getty Images

The duo’s ability to deal with adversity in a good way is what Dawson truly took from them.

It will come in handy in the here and now for the 46-year-old, whose second spell in interim charge began on Wednesday afternoon following the sacking of Tim Walter.

Dawson said: “In terms of man management and how to get the best out of individuals and a group, they were the best. Phil and Steve were absolutely top at it.

“I’ve learnt through experience when things aren’t going well. What do you need around you? Your team-mates. What do you need from the coaching staff? I’ve been lucky enough to have that myself and ‘feel’ it.

Hull City interim head coach Andy Dawson, whose second caretaker stint begins on Saturday with a trip to Championship rivals Middlesbrough.

"You can see in somebody’s eyes in terms of what is needed at the right time. Those two were top at it.

"It’s when to have a go at somebody and when to demand. But it’s also saying: ‘you are a good player, go and perform and show the level you can.’

"When the player knows you have got their back and everyone around them, then they come to the party and show how good they are."

At the minute, Hull’s players don’t just require their minds being uncluttered after the tactical rigidity of the Tim Walter era, but also a bit of loving after an impoverished, confidence-sapping nine-match winless sequence.

It’s the first port of call for Dawson, while his reference to players expressing themselves and having the confidence to not be scared of making mistakes and being in a good ‘head space’ is revealing in its own way.

He continued: "It’s a really good group, young and experienced and we’ve got international footballers. It’s giving them that free space.

"Yes, we must have a good structure, of course we do. But it’s saying: ‘you are a good footballer, you can make the decision as well.’

"Yes as a coaching staff, we will set it up in the way we want to play. But you’ll decide in that instance and if you get it wrong, you get it wrong.

"What do you do? You react, there’s no footballer on the planet who never gets things wrong.

"We have to give them that confidence that we’ve got your back. If you make a mistake, we make a mistake, it’s not you on your own.

"It’s about that freedom and level of play coming back to the individual and group. That’s our job."

There’s a certain symmetry for Dawson today.

Middlesbrough were the opponents in the final game of his first interim spell in charge in the autumn of 2022 and he now faces them in the first match of his second temporary stint at the helm, albeit at a different venue.

It remains to be seen if it is his only appointment, although a good result and/or performance might just have the benefit of buying the Tigers hierarchy some time at least.

Dawson commented: "In the Championship, every game is an opportunity to go and get a result. Are Boro a good team? Of course, they are with a very good manager and top coaching staff and they play some really good stuff. They are free-scoring with some really good players.

"But in the Championship, especially in three-game weeks, the team that is most consistent and prepared mentally, physically and tactically (succeeds). That was the message (to the players).

"Are you prepared individually and in a good head space? Have you done everything right? Because if you are, those bits of luck change and will come our way.”

Dawson certainly won’t be lacking in the support stakes from his family this afternoon, including his parents Yvonne and Stuart.

He hails from Wensleydale in the North Riding - a place where there are the odd pocket of Boro supporters.

Dawson added: "I’m not a million miles from Middlesbrough, so I’ll have a few family up there.

"It’s only 30 minutes from my mum and dad’s house, so there will be a few going there supporting Hull, not Boro!”

Middlesbrough FC v Hull City: Andy Dawson on learning from the 'best' in Phil Brown and Steve Bruce - and a big family day in North Riding