Hull City had nothing to lose and everything to gain from their first two away games against Chelsea and Manchester City, but Steve Bruce will believe his side has every chance of taking something from Saturday's game at Newcastle United.
It's important to have that belief when you're new to the Premier League and the way we saw City excel at the Etihad Stadium should give a psychological lift. Yes, the game finished in a 2-0 defeat but anyone who watched the game would have been impressed by the way they went about it.
Better finishing and it could have been a very different story. Bruce will also have taken a lot from that game. After getting over-run at Chelsea in those first 30 minutes, his side showed him they're capable of taking the game to any opponent when they're on the ball.
The big reason for that was the influence of Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore. Without them from the start at Chelsea, it was one-way traffic in the midfield battle. The game passed the Tigers by. But against Manchester City, with Huddlestone and Livermore pulling the strings, it was a largely even
contest. They can be the difference again at Newcastle. If those two have good games and enjoy plenty of possession, Alan Pardew's side will not find it easy, that's for sure.
You can see their class and why they've both won international honours. For Huddlestone it's made to look easy in there. Even when the pace of the game is high and he's got a man on his back, he always makes it seem as though he's got all the time in the world. Livermore is another technically strong player but offers more pushing forward. He's got a great engine and that also helps when the side are out of possession. He presses very well.
The way City use the ball has improved a lot with Huddlestone and Livermore, and that naturally makes the defenders job a lot easier. The more time City spend in possession, the less defending the side is asked to do. It's not rocket science.
The pair encourage those around them to pass the ball too and we're seeing Bruce's men trying to play football all the time. There are not many times you've seen an aimless ball booted forwards and that's encouraging for a newly-promoted side.
That trip to Manchester City was a blueprint of how to play away from home but missed one obvious thing: the goals. You're unlikely to get too many chances away from home in the Premier League so when they come along it's vital that City take them at Newcastle. Whether it's a centre-forward, a midfielder pushing forward or a defender from a set-piece, they have to make sure they have something to show for playing well this time.
