Town boss Roy Keane feels expectations are probably lower than they were a year ago after last season’s disappointing 15th place finish in the Championship. The Town manager is determined to avoid a repeat of the dreadful start which saw the Blues drop to the bottom of the table in the early stages of 2009/10.
Keane said: "I wouldn’t say expectations are greater than last year because we finished 15th and have lost some players. Jack Colback won our Player of the Year, both from the supporters and the players and he’s gone, we’ve not added and we’ve lost two experienced players [David Wright and Richard Wright].
"So, if anything the expectations are if anything are probably lower. But we set ourselves high standards at the club, we didn’t reach them last year and we certainly need to do better.
"We certainly need to have a better start. From October onwards our form was half-decent but we had such a bad start, not winning for the first 14 games never gave us a chance.
"The priority this year is to have a good pre-season and make sure we start the season better.”
Keane reiterated his intention that 17-year-old striker Connor Wickham will be part of his 2010/11 side: "We hope so. He’s just signed a two-year contract, but decisions like that ultimately would be taken out of my hands by the owner.
"Connor’s got the potential to be a top, top player, but that’s potential. He did very well towards the end of the season but to put pressure on a young boy of 17 to fire us into the Premiership is a big ask.
"He needs a bit of support around him and it’s up to the other players - Jon Walters, Tamás Priskin, Lee Martin, Pablo, whoever might be here - to support him. Let’s not be too dependent on one player. We’ve seen that with England with Rooney and it doesn’t work, I’m afraid.”
The Blues begin their pre-season fixtures next Tuesday when a Town XI travels to Newmarket with a more senior side in action at Southend on the following Friday.