BBC Radio Humberside presenter James Hoggarth has provided the lowdown on Hull City ahead of Brentford's Premier League trip to MKM Stadium on Sunday afternoon (2pm kick-off GMT, live on Sky Sports).
The Tigers have taken nine points from their opening seven league games following promotion through the Championship play-offs, losing only twice on their return to the top flight.
Hoggarth discusses the foundations behind Hull's impressive start, the motivation they have drawn from being written off, and why Regan Slater could be one of the players to watch this weekend.
It has been quite the start to life back in the Premier League for Hull, hasn't it? What have you made of their return to the top flight so far?
It has been an extremely impressive start and one that even the staunchest of Hull City fans, the proudest of Hull City fans, would not have predicted!
Stripping away the 2-0 win against Manchester United on the opening weekend and stripping away even the 2-2 draw at home to Everton, the impressive thing is the resilience and the structural solidity of City so far.
They were built on a really solid foundation last season and you always thought perhaps they were a game away from that DNA of the team slipping and the club struggling.
But they have just built on it this season and it is a mixture of the new players brought in and the existing players who did so well last season just lifting their abilities to adapt to the Premier League.
There was a fair amount of money spent on recruitment in the summer, but a good chunk of the players that got the club promoted are still very much front and centre. Do you think that has been important to carrying the momentum through?
It has been vital.
We had Sergej Jakirović in our studio on a scorching hot Tuesday just before the start of the season and he said something that I keep going back to when speaking on air, the significance of which struck me.
Irrespective of the players brought in and the money spent on them, he is fastidious around the spine of that team that got them into the Premier League being the backbone of the team this season, the likes of Lewie Coyle, Matt Crooks, Regan Slater and Oli McBurnie.
I do not think it is just a case of rewarding the players. I think it is his belief that they are so integral to the way he structures his team, the way he wants his team to play and react.
Some fans want to move on from that and they feel the club have brought players in that can now shift the club on and bring it to a new level.
We will see shifts as the season goes on, but those integral players from the Championship last season have, in his view, been vital to the start of the season and were always going to be.
Many wrote Hull off before a ball had been kicked. Has this start provided hope that they can silence the doubters and challenge to stay in the Premier League?
To have gone into the international break with eight points and just the one defeat surprised a lot of people, and many Hull City fans.
There was a huge level of doubt, but there was bound to be as the club came up through the play-offs and there was that perception they were behind Southampton and Middlesbrough in terms of Premier League preparation.
The style of play has not been fashionable outside the city of Hull or particularly resonant with ex-pros or fans of other clubs and, even now, there are a lot of fans, particularly those prominent on social media, that are very quick to share their opinion that the bubble will burst at some point.
You go back to the start of the season when a group of ex-pros effectively mocked, in some people's view, Hull City's chances in the Premier League just before the Manchester United game.
You normally think that the sort of things that go on on podcasts and that kind of media do not strike a chord, but in his first pre-match interview ahead of that game, Jakirović brought it up.
It was not the sort of thing you would really bring up with a manager, as you know it is just a thing that goes on in modern-day football, but he brought it up and wanted to say that he felt it was incredibly disrespectful.
To a certain extent, the more that negativity is there, the more it has certainly generated a feeling of pushback from the fans, most certainly, and it seems to have even resonated with the players.
I think the club are enjoying the fact they are going against predictions, going against what people are expecting to see from Hull City.
But there is a realism in there as well, where the club know they are still one of the favourites for relegation and their thoughts and feelings about the way the season could pan out have not changed.
I think that is part of why they are doing so well.
"I think the club are enjoying the fact they are going against predictions, going against what people are expecting to see from Hull City"
Which player should Brentford fans be keeping an eye on this Sunday?
You have to keep an eye on Regan Slater.
Inevitably, fans will look at players like Oli McBurnie, while Konstantinos Tzolakis in goal has been an incredible signing.
But I think Slater is one who perhaps does not even earn the plaudits outside of Hull City fans, and maybe even some Hull City fans do not necessarily always recognise his true value.
He is a proper 90-minute player, one of those less likely to be subbed in a game. He is full of running, full of energy.
One minute he can be picking up the ball on the edge of the Hull City area, the next he can be in amongst it in the attacking third.
This is a player who, going into Jakirović's time as head coach, was almost on the verge of leaving, but he has been absolutely transformed under him and is one of the ones from last season least likely to be dropped.
He has just been an impressive performer in terms of energy levels throughout the season so far.
What should Keith Andrews' side expect in terms of shape and style?
They are very good at shutting down spaces, very good at closing down on the ball and have been solid defensively so far.
That back three, particularly John Egan, who Brentford fans will know, has been resolute and very organised. Organisation is the key word.
They have played with a back five effectively all season, with Coyle and Ryan Giles as overlapping full-backs.
They are snappy in midfield and, if Crooks plays, you can expect a tackle. If Tim Iroegbunam comes in, he will get on the ball and ping passes around to get things going.
Ultimately, it is built on that organisational steel and, in that sense, starts from the back.
You can even expect McBurnie to be defending on corners and late on in the game, trying to win things and get under the skin.
This is not a team that will kick you, by any means; it is just a team that is strong and plays for each other.
What's your score prediction?
Given the way Brentford have started the season and the quality they possess, my prediction would be a 1-1 draw, though 2-2 would be nice.
You have got to be realistic about it and say that coming away from a game against Brentford with a point would be positive.
But I think City will work hard for that point.