SAM Allardyce delivered his mid-term report today and revealed that Wanderers were exceeding all his expectations.
The Reebok boss admits he has been "very surprised" by the 25 point return from the first 12 fixtures but he now believes the standard has been set and the foundation laid for a concerted promotion push.
"We're a quarter of the way through the season and we've lost just once in 12 games," the manager acknowledged. "If we go on like this for the remainder of the season, we'll only lose four games and there won't be many teams above us! If that's not good enough I don't know what is."
The manager's mood of optimism is a far cry from the fear he had as the season approached. His brightest young stars - Eidur Gudjohnsen and Claus Jensen - had been sold, other players - Micael Johansen, Paul Ritchie and Alan Johnston - had been lost and he had been forced to shop in the bargain basement to bring his squad up to scratch.
"We were very disrupted pre-season," he recalls. "We had a lot of new faces, a lot of injuries and suspensions and I was extremely worried because we had not been together much.
"I don't know how many players we've used already but players going out and players coming in has not affected things too much.
"In fact, we've done exceptionally well."
But the day after a scoreless home draw with Nottingham Forest saw Wanderers' surrender third place in the table to Birmingham City and Forest boss David Platt offered the view that in Division One "everybody can beat everybody else - apart from Fulham and Watford", Allardyce warned that things will start to get tougher.
"Everybody is starting to learn how to play against each other so it will get tighter from now on," he predicted. "Teams will be fitter, more organised and harder to beat. We are going to have to be more clinical and more ruthless."
The performance of his players and the results they have achieved has convinced the manager that his team - often patched up - has the ability to get by, despite the potentially-crippling selection problems he has had to contend with. Last night he was missing spearhead striker Dean Holdsworth, who could be out for two weeks at least with a groin strain, and skipper and key defender, Gudni Bergsson, who is struggling to be fit for Saturday's game at Stockport.
"We missed them but not to much," Allardyce said. "Maybe Dean Holdsworth would have stuck away one of the many chances we created but who knows? And we were resilient at the back without Gudni. So that shows we can cope."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article