ENJOY the step up to the Premier League, but be prepared for some tough times and hard work.
That's the message from Andy Dawson to Hull City's current crop of players making the step up for the first time.
The 34-year-old was part of the Tigers squad that won promotion to the Premier League for the first time in the club's history under Phil Brown in 2008.
Dawson helped the Tigers stay there for two seasons and said the class of 2013 managed by Steve Bruce should enjoy it.
"The step up from Championship to the Premier League is a difficult one, but it should be enjoyed," Dawson said.
"The players put in a lot of hard work to get there so they should enjoy every second of next season.
"I have no doubts Steve will make sure they do. I couldn't be happier leaving the Tigers as a Premier League side because I can't speak highly enough of him.
"He has experience of managing a newly-promoted side in the top flight and he'll be using that experience to keep the Tigers up."
Dawson is confident City can handle the step up when they kick-off their Premier League campaign on August 17, especially with Bruce at the helm.
And he hopes his former club can replicate the start the Tigers made in 2008 when they took the Premier League by storm in the opening two months.
They sat sixth in December, with some people talking about European football the following season, before City's fortunes took a turn for the worse in the second half of the season.
"We got off to a great start in 2008 and had 20 points by October which was kind of scary," he said.
"We signed Geovanni and he must have won eight or nine points on his own with goals against Fulham, Tottenham and Arsenal.
"We also had that element of surprise when we played as teams didn't know too much about how Daniel Cousin and Geovanni were going to play for us.
"The players signed this time around will have a big part to play in getting off to a fast start."
Dawson says teams like Swansea and Norwich, who stayed up last season after being promoted, show that it can be done, if the recruitment is done well.
"The gap between the bottom half of the Premier League and the top of the Championship is getting smaller every season," he added.
"Two of the three teams that went up last season, stayed up and that percentage is getting higher and higher. City can do the same with the right players brought in
"Also, it will be an interesting year at the top as four of last season's top six have changed their managers, so there's no knowing how they are going to adjust."
