Hull City manager Peter Taylor has admitted he is pleased with the way his team have started the season and says it has helped to take some of the pressure off them as they look to win promotion in Division Three.
The Tigers have gone unbeaten for seven games and their 2-0 win at Rochdale last weekend moved them up to second place in the league, as well as taking their manager into the tissotmplTissot Managers Performance League Top Twenty for the first time.
Speaking exclusively to leaguemanagers.com this week, Taylor revealed: "I'm really happy because I think it's the first time for a while that we've had a good start and I think it takes the pressure off everybody because there is so much expectancy at Hull City, you have a bad start and the crowd then get on the players' backs straightaway.
"So for me, I think they're happy with the team, happy with the way they're playing, a little bit frustrated that we're giving a few goals away now and again, but overall I think they're happy so I think that's helping the players play."
Hull began the season as the favourites for the Third Division title, and although Taylor does not feel their performances last season warranted such a tag, he admits: "I can understand it because of the stadium, because of the support we can get – I can understand that.
"The way played in certain matches last year, we didn't deserve to be the favourites, I think people like Lincoln City should have started off as more favourites than us because of the way they performed every week.
"But I can understand it, we did spend a bit of money, although we didn't spend as much as a lot other clubs in the summer, and I can understand people saying - looking at the squad that we've got - that we've got a very, very good chance.
"We can accept the favourites side of it but I think the players know as soon as the kick-off comes they've just got to get on with it and do the business."
One point behind surprise early leaders Swansea, Hull are level with newcomers Yeovil and two points clear of Oxford United – two of the teams Taylor had fancied to challenge this year.
"Before the season started I honestly thought Bristol Rovers (currently ninth) would do well. I thought Yeovil would do well – I'd heard tremendous things about Yeovil; Oxford with Ian Atkins, you know they'll be tremendously hard to beat and Ian knows the level, and I think Northampton (tenth); they have spent the most money Northampton and I think eventually their players will get to know each other and start to perform.
"But the nice thing about is I think there are a lot of clubs there trying to have a go, trying to win football matches and I think it makes for good entertainment."
Tuesday 30th September will be two years to the day that Peter Taylor was sacked as manager of Leicester City following The Foxes poor start to the season in the Premiership, and this season it is one of his former team-mates who has suffered a similar fate at Spurs.
Taylor, who played with Glenn Hoddle at Tottenham and worked with him as England's under-21 boss during his spell in charge of the national side, admitted his sadness at his ex-colleague's sacking.
"I spoke to him Monday morning and I've got to say he really is disappointed because of how much Tottenham means to him, and I think he felt that with time he would have got it right.
" I really do believe that as well because I think he signed some younger players that are going to take a little bit of time and I just felt that the board, with allowing him to spend that money on those type of players, they shouldn't really expect results straightaway. "His best striker got injured playing for the Republic of Ireland and I think that was very, very hard for Glenn. You can appreciate he's very, very down – I spoke to him and to John Gorman – but the nice thing about it is he's very, very determined to bounce back.
"I think the nice thing about Glenn is that he wants to play football and to play the way he played the game, and okay you're not going to get players who can spray the ball the way he did, but he wants to play the ball from the back through the midfield to the front players and so on, and play in a very nice way," he added.
"But I worked with Glenn for three-and-a-bit years and I've got to say that defensively he's very, very strong as well and people might think that he was just an outstanding midfield player and he may not think about the defensive side of the game but he certainly does.
"I've got no doubt he'll bounce back as well and I hope he does, but at the minute I feel very sorry for him because I know how much he would want to be Tottenham's manager and for them to be a success."
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