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“I think there’s a massive opportunity,” the ex-Chelsea man told Hull Live. “It starts off with winning games, but it’s not as simple as saying if we win a few games, we’re going to climb the table, we have to win the games first, and we have struggled to do that so far. It’s obviously going to be tough going to Middlesbrough on Saturday.

“There’s still 29 games left, if you win back-to-back games in this league, then you’re in mid-table, win three in a row, and you’re probably in the play-offs, the league is crazy, but at the same point, we haven’t been doing that, so it’s not as simple as saying if we win on Saturday, we’re going to be here (or there), you need the points to back it up.

“With the squad that we have got we believe or I believe and I think a lot of the players believe that we can still turn the season around, there’s still a lot of time to do that. It’s obviously been a tough start, but we can’t look back now. What’s happened has happened. We’ve got a fresh start on Saturday, and we need to prove that we can do it.

“It’s a big opportunity (at Boro), but it’s not like if we don’t win on Saturday, oh my God, we’re going to get relegated. There’s still perspective (required). There are 28 games after Saturday. We’ve still got time to turn a lot of things around, but it starts with Saturday and trying to put on a positive performance for the fans to see that we’re moving in the right direction, that we can all stick together and go forward.”

Palmer, who was one of Walter’s four transfer deadline day signings when he moved from Coventry City, had become increasingly frustrated in recent weeks with his lack of minutes and says the German’s exit was not a big surprise.

“It’s difficult when a manager leaves,” he explained. “It’s always sad, but I think we kind of expected it with how the results have gone. We haven’t been doing well enough. We haven’t won games, and that’s football.

“I think when you look at the dressing room, I look at the dressing room, it’s a squad that’s capable of achieving promotion, whether that’s through the play-offs or automatically. We’ve got enough talent and ability in the building that should be fighting to get promoted.

“So to be at the bottom of the table is not what anyone expected, not what I expected when I signed, and I think not the ambition of the club or the fans. We’re underachieving massively, so something had to change.”

Some players might have mixed feelings about the manager going, especially in Palmer’s case, given it was Walter who brought him to the club, but that wasn’t the situation, and there’s clearly no love lost between the pair.

“I wouldn’t say so (mixed feelings). I wanted to play a lot more than I played, so that’s all I can really say to be fair. I want to play every game, and I don’t think I got the opportunity to play where I wanted to play (in the number ten role) and do what I wanted to do in the time that I’ve been here.”