I must confess to being one of many 'pundits' who tipped Hull's bubble to burst sooner rather than later. Have I changed my mind after Saturday? No, because I still do think they will be among the strugglers come the end of the season.

However, after seeing them at the Britannia I do now know why they have done so well on their travels so far this term - and why they will probably continue to do so.

Phil Brown, albeit a pretty hateful character if you are a Potters fan, got his tactics and gameplan absolutely spot on and Stoke must take a leaf out of the Tigers' book if they are to pick up some much-needed away wins.

Hull - as the Potters do when playing away - came to Stoke-On-Trent with the sole intention of sitting back, nullifying the home side and breaking when possible. However, the difference between the two sides is that Hull can do all three of the above things, whereas Stoke can only do the first two.

They have notched just three goals away from North Staffordshire, which is pretty dreaful when compared to Hull's 15. And having seen the two sides on Saturday, it is a statistic that does not surprise me.

Hull did not force Thomas Sorensen into a save for the first 44 minutes but then in the 45th, they scored because they capable of doing what Stoke can't - making the most of their breaks.

This is largely down to the buys Brown made in the summer and the players, such as Joe Ledley and Jermaine Pennant, that Tony Pulis missed out on. And he has to address that in January if Stoke are to build on their decent start.

Another striker must be bought to challenge the current incumbents, but even more crucial is to add pace to the midfield so the side can actually break with a bit of purpose once in a while.

Hull were camped in their area for long spells on Saturday but when Stoke lost the ball - which they did far too often - the Tigers were quickly up the field.

The Potters, on the other hand, regularly amble out of defence and invariably end up giving the ball away. That is partly down to a lack of composure and sometimes skill, but more often than not simply due to a lack of team-mates to pass too.

The midfield pushes forward so slowly that breaks almost always end with a player turning round on the halfway line and either passing backwards or losing the ball altogether.

It hasn't been too much of a problem at home because Stoke dominate games and creating plenty of opportunities, but away from home they must learn how to make the most of less possession.

That means breaking quicker as a unit and using the ball more intelligently as Hull did. They kept the ball very well, used the full width of the pitch and looked comfortable in possession.

Stoke, however, generally rush balls to the feet of Ricardo Fuller or the head of Mama Sidibe on their breaks but the midfield rarely busts a gut to support the front two, ensuring the ball is often quickly lost due to a lack of support.

Hull proved on Saturday - as they have done all season - that goals can be scored away from home, but only if you break pace and in numbers and Stoke must follow their lead if they are to claim that elusive first away win.

Now returning to the weekend events at the Britannia and I can't help but feel Stoke missed a chance to claim all three points. To be fair, enough good opportunities were created to have won the game, but it was still a performance that lacked purpose or excitement going forward.

A central midfield of Salif Diao and Amdy Faye is certainly solid but it seems a little over-cautious against a side we hoped to beat, particularly when you consider there were too more centre midfielders on the wings.

I'm all for keeping faith with a winning team but Pulis maybe needs to be more ruthless with his selections as sides should be picked based on the opposition rather than the previous week's result. Against Hull for example, there was surely a case for another ball player such as Glenn Whelan or Michael Tonge to have started.

Saying all of that, I'm still delighted with how the first 15 games have gone and still extremely confident of survival. There are lessons that must learned amd improvements that need to be made, but this season is a learning curve for Pulis and many of his players so they can be forgiven at this stage.

However, continue to make the same mistakes and Stoke's fans will not be so forgiving for much longer.