Tim Walter opens up on Ivor Pandur's start at Hull City as he sets down challenge

Ivor Pandur has benefitted from the increased competition at Hull City after a summer of activity in the goalkeeping department at the MKM Stadium.

Pandur, 24, who arrived in January, hadn't played a single minute of competitive football for City until the opening day of the Championship season and has played in all six league games since.

The arrival of Anthony Racioppi fresh from playing in the Champions League for Swiss outfit Young Boys last season along with Carl Rushworth's deadline day move from Brighton and Hove Albion has increased the pressure, and focus, on the Croatian, while youngsters Thimothee Lo-Tutala and Harvey Cartwright will be pushing once they recover from their respective injuries.

As the season has progressed, Pandur has looked increasingly confident between the posts, and Walter says his willingness to embrace the competition has been key.

"Yes (I've been impressed with his start), but everybody can do it if they are open and if they have the willingness to learn and to learn, especially new things and it's good to have.

"Ivor has improved and he's tried to improve himself even more therefore you need the challenge. Without challenge, you can't improve, and he's the one who needs it even more and that's good to see."

Walter says it's an open fight between Pandur, Racioppi and Rushworth for the number one shirt, and admits making a change in goal is, in his view, not a big decision and something he will do if he feels it's right for that particular game, or if one of his goalkeepers performs particularly well in training.

"We have a lot of good goalkeepers, so it's an open fight every week, and they have to show me that they want to play," he explained. "That's good to have because challenge is everything you can have in the training session to improve yourself. If you want to get better, you have to challenge yourself, or you will accept it that you are not good enough and he challenged himself.

"It's not difficult, no (to change goalkeeper), because it's about the game and you have to explain it to every player, and that's what they do. As I said they can show me every week in the training sessions that they are ready to start.

"We have a lot of games and they can start and everybody can start in our squad because I'm very happy with them, all we have to do is keep working, working, working. It's good that they have the attitude to work and to learn, and then everybody has the possibility to play."