By
Keifer MacDonald
BBC Sport journalist
- Published4 minutes ago
Newly promoted sides Coventry City,Ipswich TownandHull Cityhave collected a combined 31 points after nine games, the 13th-highest tally by promoted sides at this stage in Premier League history.
Hull City and Ipswich account for 22 of those points, with Sergej Jakirovic and Gary O'Neil's sides both sitting on 11.
Coventry are slightly behind their promoted peers, but the Sky Blues' three victories have still earned them a respectable nine points.
And there is further encouragement for the newcomers - since the 2010-11 season, all 18 promoted teams who have collected at least 11 points from their opening nine games have avoided relegation.
When reflecting on Coventry's summer spending spree, it is clear they were under no illusion of what it takes to compete in the Premier League.
The Sky Blues constructed major surgery on their playing squad by shelling out more than £140m on 12 permanent signings.
That splurge included the arrivals of Caleb Yirenkyi for a club record fee, Carl Rushworth from Brighton, and Sidiki Cherif from Fenerbahce.
Frank Lampard also added Premier League experience in the form of Loum Tchaouna fromBurnleyand Taiwo Awoniyi fromNottingham Forest.
After a summer of such upheaval, it is no surprise it took Lampard a few weeks - five to be exact - to find his winning touch.
Hindsight has also been kind to Coventry. The fact three of their first four Premier League matches were against the current top three -Arsenal,Manchester CityandBrighton- was clearly far from the ideal introduction.
After Saturday's 3-1 win overSunderland, midfielder Jack Rudoni insisted his side still "believed" in their quality after a bruising start to the campaign.
"We always had that belief," Rudoni told BBC Sport. "We have a really good squad here, where the morale is good and we get behind each other, which is what we will continue to do all season.
"We know it's not going to be an easy ride, there's going to be ups and downs - but hopefully more ups than downs. Starting today with another three points, so we can build on that now."
