This doesn’t happen on my ND2. Press and hold it starts and that’s it, no matter how long I keep it held in. Releasing the button doesn’t start mine as it has already started
I think the original idea about depressing the clutch before starting was in case the car was left in gear.
I was taught that in extreme freezing weather with snow and ice, when on a level surface, to park the car in gear but handbrake off, as otherwise the handbrake can freeze on.
here in cambridge, everything’s flat, so the advice works fine. probably not useful advice in Yorkshire 
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Ah. I need to check. Might be you have to floor the throttle while cranking to get it to do that…
It’s completely normal, though depressing the clutch may be a good habit to get into.
What do folk actually say to a clutch to “Depress it?”
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tell it “I hate this clutch, I must buy an automatic…”
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My dad always said to me to press the clutch when starting the car as it reduces thrust bearing wear. Dunno if that’s a a thing, but have always done it on a manual car.
It would increase thrust bearing wear, because you’re applying pressure to the thrust (aka release) bearing. Pressing the clutch to start also increases wear on the crankshaft thrust washers, because at start-up they don’t have the benefit of a fresh pressurised oil supply. There are many instances of engines suffering from failure of the thrust washers when there’s a requirement to press the clutch pedal to start, particularly if an uprated and therefore heavier-action clutch is fitted. When the thrust washers wear, crankshaft end float is increased and ultimately much damage ensures.
In my own Skoda Yeti, I have fitted a defeat device (available on eBay) into the clutch switch circuitry so I no longer have to press the clutch to start and so will save my engine from damage. (Thrust washer damage is a particular thing in this VW EA888 engine range.) And in the many tuned Imps I used to own, sometimes the starter wouldn’t turn the engine if the clutch pedal was depressed, because of the friction of the release bearing (albeit an old-fashioned carbon type). Turning the gearbox internals, even with cold oil in winter, was much less effort for the starter motor than fighting against a release bearing and thrust washers under the pressure of the clutch pressure plate’s spring.
The only reason for a depress-clutch-to-start feature is as a safety system, which was originally mandated in the US where automatics are prevalent.
John Simister