Sunderland manager Roy Keane will set his sights on the upper reaches of the Barclays Premier League table once a second season of top-flight football has been secured.
The Black Cats entertain Manchester City knowing a fourth successive league win, coupled with results elsewhere, could mathematically ensure their continued presence among the big boys.
That would be a significant achievement for a manager who is still learning his trade and a club which has endured its fair share of misery and financial duress in recent years.
But for Keane, who was quick to insist after last weekend's 3-1 win at Fulham - their third successive league victory - there was still hard work to be done.
Keane took charge at the Stadium of Light in August 2006 and secured promotion to the Premier League at the first attempt.
But he always knew taking the next step would be a tougher proposition.
Keane said: "Getting promotion, I found very easy because I knew the potential of the football club. Getting out of the Championship I found the easy part.
"We knew this year was a big year for the club going back over a long, long time. We know if we can stabilise this year, we know this club and the potential is there for everyone to see that we can go on to better things.
"You look at our crowd against West Ham the other week - 45,000 for a team struggling near the bottom. Can you imagine if we can get higher up the table?
"I do believe if we can stabilise this year and stay in the Premier League, we can challenge the teams just ahead of us, the West Hams and the Blackburns.
"That's where we want to be over the next year or two."
Sunderland's chances of doing that have improved immeasurably in recent weeks with a string of results which looked beyond them for much of the season to that point.
They had not won away from home all season until substitute Michael Chopra's late strike secured all the points at Aston Villa on March 22, and they collected back-to-back top-flight victories for the first time in 127 games when they followed that up with a last-gasp 2-1 defeat of the Hammers.
Keane's men all but secured their immediate future last weekend when they dumped Fulham deeper into trouble with a 3-1 win at Craven Cottage.
Keane's intention to spend heavily once again this summer have sent expectations soaring on Wearside, but the Irishman has no problem with that.
He added: "That's what I enjoy. I enjoy the fact that the Sunderland fans want the best, otherwise I wouldn't have come to the football club, I would have carried on walking my dog.
"We know there is still a lot of hard work ahead, but the potential is there for this football club to get stronger and stronger, and I believe I am the man to do it."
