Last Season's Near Miss Sparks Safety Measures

Given how close we were last season in falling through the ever present trapdoor, Quinny has always kept the 'R word' in the confines of his mind - just incase of course. Speakin to The Times He said:

"We`re about to start our third year in a row in this division, so we`re not a yo-yo club any more. One of those yos has gone and we just need to get rid of the other one now. We`re a yo club!

"But I remember what happened a few years ago when we went down and so many members of staff lost their jobs. That was the cruellest thing of all, seeing non-football staff pack their bags and have to go. That hurt the very epicentre of the club.

"You don`t feel so sorry for the player who gets to drive his Ferrari out of the gates. This time, we`ve been determined to have a plan in place and we [will] try very hard when it comes to relegation clauses.'

"You agree contracts over a sporadic period, but we`ve probably got to the stage where we`re 90 per cent there. For new players now, we would insist upon [the clause]. And that would tell you what their intentions are, too. I`m not trying to put them in a weakened position, but there should be some consideration given to `yes, I`m going to give you all this money, but if you fail, then next year I can`t`.

"It`s as simple as that and even if it cost us a signing I would stick with that, definitely. In the modern world, at a club like ours and where we are on our journey, we`d have to."

Niall's not too keen on repeating last years disaster and hopes for a more comfortable season in the Premiership. He said:

"Staying in the division gives everybody a massive lift.

"You only have to imagine how bad [relegation] could have been to realise how it important it is. If we could kick that on and have a comfortable year in the Premier League - and by that I mean understanding from a very early stage that we weren`t going to get relegated - you`d then see what this club was capable of.

"Are we going to get full houses every week? Do we need to kick on? That has to be the aim and it`s a reasonable aim. It`s not a stupid aim. There`s no point talking about finishing in the top-four at the moment. It`s nonsense. It`s just so, so hard to talk like that. You`ve got to gradually, gradually have achievable aims and our next achievable aim is to become a comfortable Premier League club."

For the very latest Premier League odds

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.