We've learned a lot about Hull City from the opening month of the Premier League season and arguably the biggest plus has been the way Steve Bruce's side have defended. After looking all at sea for those first 30 minutes at Chelsea on the opening weekend of the season, they've shown great togetherness and unity against some pretty formidable centre-forwards.
A switch back to a four-man defence has so far been seamless and credit has to go to new arrivals Curtis Davies and Maynor Figueroa. I've been really impressed with the starts made by both players and they've certainly added something to Bruce's side.
Davies has come on leaps and bounds since a shaky first half at Chelsea and been an influential figure at centre-half. You can already see those bits of quality that once earned him an England call-up and had everyone singing his praises as a youngster.
He's also taken some of the burden off James Chester alongside him. Where everyone used to look to Chester as the key defender, now Davies is there to lead the way. That can only help Chester's development to have someone like Davies to feed off.
You can't underestimate the value of Figueroa, either. The left-back's made it look easy during his first few games. He'll never stand out but he just quietly does his job. He gets in good positions and marshals those around him well. It's effortless really, he cruises through games.
I can't imagine we'll see too many wingers giving Figueroa the run around this season but the last line of the defence, Allan McGregor, has shown he can dig City out of holes. He's been outstanding in goal and Bruce will be delighted how he's settled in.
The whole defensive unit has a nice feel to it, but a lot of that comes from the way the team works together. It's the old adage of defending from the front and we're seeing every man working hard for his team-mates.
The presence of Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore in midfield has been a big difference. Not only do they retain possession well, limiting the amount of defending you're asked to do, they offer good protection and break up play.
You're only as good as your last game, though, and it is vital that City maintain these defensive standards. Make one mistake or fall asleep for a second and it will cost you in the Premier League. The concentration and discipline has been first class so far but that needs to continue.
While his attacking weaknesses have kept him awake over the past year, Bruce knows he has an excellent group of defenders. Behind the current four there's Liam Rosenior, Paul McShane, Alex Bruce and Joe Dudgeon all waiting for a chance and you can now throw Abdoulaye Faye's name into the mix. It's good to see him back in action for the reserves this week. The experience he brings can only be a good thing. Faye will have to wait for his chance but you know he'll never let anyone down.
