what I meant was, if the pedal was pushed down, but there was air in the hydraulic system and the slave cylinder wasn't pushing the pressure plate in far enough to release the clutch, the engine would then still be partially engaged to the transmission, and could cause the engine to crank slow, due to the fact that the starter would in essence be trying to move the vehicle, hence why I asked if it started ok in neutral.
Anything else anyone needs explained???