Dean Windass knows better than most what it takes for a newly promoted side to survive in the Premier League — and the Hull City legend believes the Tigers are on the right track, even if the road ahead is long.

Windass is forever linked to Hull's promotion story. In 2008, he struck a stunning volley at Wembley to beat Bristol City in the play-off final, sending his hometown club into the top flight for the first time. What followed surprised almost everyone: Hull won six of their first nine Premier League matches, recording victories at Newcastle, Arsenal, and Tottenham Hotspur after an opening-day win over Fulham.

History repeating at the MKM Stadium

Eighteen years on, the parallels are striking. After defeating Middlesbrough in May's play-off final, Hull beat Manchester United on the opening day of the current campaign, then followed that up with a 1-0 win at Coventry City — six points from six, ahead of a home fixture against Aston Villa.

"The best thing you can do is play a top team at home in the first game," Windass told FourFourTwo. "Nobody expected Hull City to win. The pressure was on Man U, who didn't know what Hull City were like. I was at the game and Man U were very poor — you could tell they were trying to gel with Youri Tielemans and their new signings."

Windass was also encouraged by the Coventry result. "I knew that Coventry would be a harder game, but they came through it," he said. "But my advice to Hull City fans is it's a long season. Villa will be a tough test — every game is a tough test in the Premier League."

The changing room is everything

Windass draws on his own experience to make a broader point about what keeps promoted clubs afloat. When he went up with Bradford, manager Paul Jewell made one thing clear from the outset: winning the majority of home games was the target, and anything above fourth from bottom would be a bonus.

He sees echoes of that mentality at Hull now. "I know Lewie Coyle, Oli McBurnie, and Matt Crooks are there, and I've heard they've got a good changing room," he said. "They've brought a lot of players in, but these aren't proven Premier League players — they're going to find it hard. But Stuart McCall at Bradford used to say, 'We've got a good changing room, we've got a good chance of staying up.' And Bradford did stay up."

Phil Brown's famous half-time teamtalk

Hull's 2008-09 campaign had a defining moment that tested the squad's togetherness. On Boxing Day, they were thrashed 5-1 at Manchester City, trailing 4-0 at the interval. Manager Phil Brown made the remarkable decision to deliver his half-time talk on the pitch, in full view of the away supporters.

Windass, who was substituted at the break in what turned out to be his final appearance for the club, does not believe the episode fractured the dressing room. "He kept us out on the pitch, and that was his choice," he said, speaking in association with betTOM. "We were fifth in the table at Christmas. You're playing Man City — Robinho was playing for them, Vincent Kompany — they had a decent team. You put your hands up."

"It didn't dampen the changing room. The lads stuck together. Phil got the last laugh — singing on the pitch after we stayed up."

Windass cites the quality of character in that Hull squad as the real reason for their survival. "We had George Boateng, Paul McShane, Ian Ashbee, Nick Barmby — good pros. No matter what division you're in, if you've got a good changing room, you've got a great chance of success."

For Windass, the current Hull squad would do well to hold onto that same truth as the season unfolds.