After a 104-year wait, the Yorkshire club are making their long-overdue debut in England's elite league.

Such is the buzz around the city, supporters queued for hours to get their hands on season tickets to watch their heroes battle against the cream of world football this season.

But will the Tigers be able to survive the drop? For a start, they will have a partisan support to help the team avoid an instant return to the Football League. Manager Phil Brown will want each and every fan to help turn the KC Stadium into a cauldron of noise.

Sunderland enjoyed an excellent home record last term, winning nine and drawing three of their fixtures at the Stadium of Light on their return to the top flight. It contributed to their survival, while fellow new boys Birmingham City and Derby County weren't so lucky.

Another factor in the Black Cats' survival was manager Roy Keane's £40million investment in new players. City will have to spend big if they are to compete - but it remains to be seen if they have the resources.

Brown must surely make several astute acquisitions if he is to achieve what many would see as an impossible dream. The 48-year-old says he wants to sign "six, seven or eight players". He recently cited the signings of Dean Windass, Bryan Hughes and Richard Garcia all in one day last summer as a key ingredient of the success that was to follow. He will be hoping for something similar this time around. The manager himself does have the credentials to succeed.

He was number two to Sam Allardyce at Bolton Wanderers when they were promoted to the top flight in 2001 and helped them stay up in the following season.

The Geordie helped create Allardyce's management blueprint which saw the ex-Newcastle United manager to so much success at Bolton. Brown studiously follows his mentor's approach to science and statistics.

Allardyce will be Brown's role model to avoid relegation and the Tigers manager admits he will approach his former boss for advice ahead of the forthcoming campaign.

"Sam is a perfect model to use as far as I am concerned, because he has been there and done it," Brown said.

"He is my role model and I will be talking to him a lot in the coming weeks because I am determined to survive in the Premier League."

Brown, who has only been at the helm for 18 months after keeping the club up the season before, will be aiming to secure the permanent services of young forward Fraizer Campbell.

The 20-year-old spent last season on loan from Manchester United, scoring 15 goals to help secure third place in the Championship.

If he stays at Hull, the Tigers will have a pacey frontman whose movement will be a problem for Barclays Premier League defenders.

Campbell formed an unlikely partnership with 39-year-old Windass, also scorer of 15 goals last season including a superb effort in the 1-0 play-off final win over Bristol City. Windass has Premier League experience with Bradford City and Middlesbrough but may be used more sparingly next season.

Nick Barmby, who has played at the top level with Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Leeds United, Everton and Middlesbrough, may also be called upon by Brown for his knowledge.

Former Charlton Athletic defender Michael Turner had an excellent year for Hull in both boxes. Quick and strong in the air, the ever-present chipped in with five goals. But it will be at the other end where Brown will need him to impress. There have been numerous examples over the years of promoted sides struggling defensively, with top class strikers taking advantage of the space afforded to them by unprepared defenders. Turner will need to buck that trend.

Fellow defender Sam Ricketts, a Wales international, had a fine season and is highly thought of by international head coach John Toshack.

In between the posts, USA-born goalkeeper Boaz Myhill - a former player at Aston Villa - will be looking to shine against the Barclays Premier League big guns after a fantastic campaign which saw Hull keep the second meanest defence in the division.

Captain Ian Ashbee has come through every Football League division with Hull and had an inspirational season in the Tigers' midfield. But along with ex-Charlton and Birmingham midfielder Hughes, can he make the step up to the top flight? Hughes already has a Premier League past and the emphasis will be on him to readapt. He will know from his experience in the top flight that players get little time on the ball in midfield before opponents are snapping in with challenges.

Former Tottenham midfielder Dean Marney, 24, was another of Hull's star performers and will be looking to prove his old club were wrong to let him go.

After coming up through the play-offs, the Tigers have less time than their rivals to prepare for the new campaign. They were the first club to return to training on 30th June, along with Liverpool. Brown has argued that his side will actually be three weeks ahead of everyone in their fitness but he must guard against the fate that often befalls teams who enter the Intertoto Cup. There have been examples of clubs in that competition returning to pre-season early, playing in Europe and starting the season strongly, only to run out of steam in the second-half of the campiagn. Aston Villa won just two of their final 12 league matches when they entered the competition in the 2002/03 season.

But the club will draw inspiration from West Ham United who were the last side promoted via the Championship play-offs that managed to stay up three seasons ago.

Hull may be written off as relegation certs, but the Tigers fans couldn't care less. They've got the thrills and spills of a high octane season in the Barclays Premier League to be excited about.

Brown's side have no Premier League experience, but they can at least look back at how history has treated the newly promoted sides. Premierleague.com analyses the factors that have been decisive in keeping clubs afloat. To read the article, click here.