SONE Aluko waited eight long years to make his Premier League debut, but when the moment finally arrived it failed to provide him with any pleasure. Handed a start in Hull City's opening weekend trip to Chelsea a fortnight ago, a patient vigil that began as an unused substitute in Birmingham City's trip to Arsenal in October 2007 was at its end.
After moves from Birmingham to Aberdeen, Rangers and then on to the KC Stadium, Aluko was at last at home in England's top flight. City's trip to Stamford Bridge ought to have been an occasion to cherish but the perfectionist in Aluko refused to allow it. A 2-0 defeat had rained on his parade.
Last weekend's 1-0 victory over Norwich helped restore Aluko's smile but it will soon fade if this lunchtime's trip to Manchester City brings another set-back. Aluko has returned to the Premier League to compete, not comply, with the house rules.
"I never enjoy losing," he said. "The Norwich game I enjoyed. But Chelsea? No. Even though it was a nice experience and a nice stadium, I don't think we showed how good we are.
"Hopefully we can remedy that this weekend with another tough away game. They might have a lot of the ball and we have to be organised and patient. When we get it we can express ourselves and show we're not there to make up numbers."
While most supporters would already feel comfortable toasting a successful opening month with three points in the bank, Aluko has only described the Tigers' fortunes as "50-50" ahead of today's trip to the Etihad Stadium. A tough taskmaster, perhaps, but the Chelsea demise irks Aluko. For the optimists it was a show of defiance that proved City could compete in the Premier League, but for the ambitious 24-year-old it had already turned into a lost cause.
Shipping two goals inside the first 25 minutes of their season amid a Chelsea barrage, the Tigers were given a baptism of fire back amongst the elite. Aluko wants today to show lessons have been learned.
"In the Chelsea game the first 20-30 minutes they were exceptional but I think we were poor. If we play better and show what we can do maybe it will be different," he said. "You can't be star-struck at all. If you go there star-struck you'll definitely lose.
"You enjoy playing against those players, it's what you dream about when you're young. We want to test ourselves against those players."
Adding to their points tally before the international break will not be easy for Steve Bruce's side this lunchtime. Against a Manchester City side crowned champions 15 months ago and boosted by the summer arrival of Manuel Pellegrini and £90m of spending, the Blues are hunting silverware on all fronts this season.
The first bump in the road was felt at Cardiff last weekend. Losing 3-2 to the Premier League new boys as the Welsh capital partied, Manchester City will be hungry to make amends against the Tigers.
"City didn't get a good result and they won't want to lose to two newly promoted teams, but it gives us confidence it can be done," said Aluko. "There aren't too many deficiencies in that squad, but I'm sure the manager has a game plan for us to work on.
"We can't follow Cardiff's plans so to speak. We have different players so we have to have our own game plan. You have to be patient in every game, even the Championship. You have to respect your opponent every time."
City failed in their first attempt to spring a surprise against Champions League football quality but still pose the unknown quality for even the most illustrious hosts. So is there any prospect of the Tigers being taken lightly?
"If they do they won't do it for long," said Aluko. "In this league everybody gets watched, scrutinised, managers do their homework. We always try to play football. Teams will eventually see. A lot of people said Hull will definitely go back down like we'll be whipping boys, but I think people will be surprised."
