THERE will be no meeting with a Special One or even a fixture to justify a summer's wait, but Hull City boss Steve Bruce will have been a satisfied man when handed an opening month devoid of glamour.
Unlike 12 months ago, when the Tigers learned the formative weeks of their Premier League return would include the thankless trips to Chelsea and Manchester City, a new set of fixtures begin with no such threat in August.
A trip to newly-promoted Queens Park Rangers might be poorly timed so soon after the Londoners' victory in the Championship play-off final, but the games that follow against Stoke, Aston Villa, West Ham and Newcastle all offer the chance to collect early points.
And that is all Bruce was ever hoping for with the unveiling of the fixtures yesterday morning.
Not until welcoming Manchester City to the KC Stadium on September 27 do the Tigers face one of the Premier League's big hitters and even then it is followed by a home game with Crystal Palace.
The 2014-15 fixture list arguably offers as inviting a start as City have ever enjoyed in the top flight. The opening handful of games are not easy but neither are they difficult. The timing, if nothing else, is kind on City.
The demands of the Europa League could bring 14 competitive fixtures before the second international break at the start of October and the Tigers do not want to be caught lagging through the Autumn months.
The Premier League, be certain, remains Bruce's only priority.
Adventures on the continent will bring an unprecedented distraction, but the blueprint is there to follow on the domestic stage.
A confident start to last season put 14 points on the board inside 10 games and by the end of 2013 and the halfway stage that figure had been inflated to 23.
That cushion ensured a stuttering second half of the season, a period when only 14 more points were found from a possible 57, did not prove fatal.
If survival is again the only aim for a club still settling into life in the Premier League, supporters will hope the closing weeks do not require their side to make up ground on relegation rivals.
The final half dozen fixtures include Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs and Manchester United – four of last season's top seven – and only the visit of last season's Championship runners-up Burnley would appear to offer a golden chance for three points.
The new fixture list has parallels with the season that ended last month. The vast majority of City's home games in 2014 will be earmarked for big returns and only in 2015 are most of the big boys due in East Yorkshire. A return to the home comforts is a must.
This, of course, remains a fixture list like no other in City's 110-year history.
We must wait another month before learning which far flung corner of Europe City could begin the season in the third qualifying round of the Europa League on July 31 and progress into the group stages could see as many as 31 games played before 2014 is out. That figure last season was just 22 and underlines the size of the squad needed by Bruce.
The Premier League begins all over again at Loftus Road, a ground that has been unkind to City over recent times.
Fourteen visits have failed to bring a single away win and not since John McSeveney was on target in a 2-0 win in October 1963 have City earned victory in W12.
History also tells you there are better times to visit one of the Premier League's newcomers.
Positivity spills over from the joys of promotion and Loftus Road will still be bouncing come August 16.
But City need not fear QPR. Nor will they quake at the prospect of facing Stoke, Aston Villa, West Ham and Newcastle, four clubs who all gave the Tigers points last term.
The chance is there for City to start a new season in the manner they began 2013-14 and an early return of points is a must from the outset of the most demanding campaign in the club's history.
