Chairman calls for reality check

HullChairman Paul Duffen has insisted Premier League survival remains Hull's target despite their great start to the season.

Phil Brown's side has confounded the critics with their impressive start to the new campaign, with last Saturday's 2-1 win at title contenders Arsenal moving them up to sixth place in the table.

Duffen is delighted at their start to life in the top league but is refusing to let their present position alter the club's pre-season expectations.

"It is not beyond my wildest dreams because they involve Elle McPherson! But in footballing terms, we are ahead of schedule," Duffen told the Yorkshire Post.

"A point a game across the season means you usually stay in the Premier League, whereas we are close to two at the moment.

"It is encouraging, of course it is. But the target remains what it has always been - to retain our Premier League status. That will not change.

"Before last season we set the target of a top-half finish and that never wavered because, as a club, we are not in the business of moving the goalposts during a season. Anything else was a bonus, as it would be this season.

"What we have to remember is it is a long campaign with 38 very difficult games to get through. And I am sure that, at some stage, we will hit a dip in form."



More in Hull City news