Alex McLeish has probably made a rod for his own back after his impressive achievements at Birmingham last season. After being written off last summer as prime relegation fodder, McLeish and his players - many dismissed as Premier League has-beens - stunned the doubters by guiding the club to a creditable ninth placed finish.
It was Birmingham's best finish to a campaign since 1959 and, with a hefty cash injection from owner Carson Yeung this summer, optimism is steadily building around St. Andrew's that a European spot should be the target this term.
McLeish is having none of it, however. He is adamant that the primary mission for the forthcoming season is simply to ensure they avoid dropping into the wilderness of the Championship again.
He is anxious to avoid Birmingham becoming the latest victims of the dreaded "second season syndrome", the curse that filled Stoke manager Tony Pulis with such fear and trepidation last year.
The Premier League is littered with such casualties, with Hull the most recent club to experience relegation in their second campaign operating at the top level.
Reading, in 2008, are probably the most famous case after sliding out of the league just 12 months after finishing eighth.
McLeish is desperate to avoid having his name added to the statistics. "Next season will be harder because teams will be better prepared and be ready for us," he said.
"But we've certainly got to make sure we stay in the Premier League this season. There are so many cases of teams not doing so well the season after and where players go off the boil. "Last year we said staying up was the main objective and we surprised ourselves by having a good season. But we are still developing as a club and some players have only had one year playing at this level. I have to see if they can do it again – but I'm backing these boys."
McLeish has strengthened his squad this summer with the capture of goalkeeper Ben Foster from Manchester United and Serbia international Nikola Zigic so, with those additions, he should be guaranteed another impressive season. To finish ninth again may be asking too much but anything above the bottom eight would represent another job well done.
Without wanting to take anything away from McLeish and his achievements last season, there was a general acceptance that, for the majority of the campaign, everything that could go right for Birmingham did - obviously taking out their two games against Villa.
The Scot was able to name an unchanged starting XI most weeks, especially during their stunning 15-match unbeaten run, and surely cannot count on such good fortune on the injury this time around.
It was also a very poor division, with the three relegated teams - Hull, Portsmouth and Burnley - all in various states of disarray, ensuring the likes of Wigan and Bolton stayed up by default.
The one fear he probably has is how last season ended. After establishing such a cushion from the relegation trapdoor, feet inevitably came off the gas and there was only one victory from the final 10 games. A hangover into this season is the last thing McLeish wants.
If he does happen to run into any problems, however, there are enough managers to ask for advice about that second season syndrome.
