It seems very odd to reflect on last season and see West Ham nestled right behind Wolves, Everton and Leicester, with just 5 points covering the four teams. Comparing the optimism of those fan bases and the seemingly unbridled pessimism of West Ham would suggest that they were worlds apart rather than just a couple of wins.

But looking through the squad that they have assembled, it really is a case of potential and how many of their players can live up to the ability that they could bring week in, week out.

Felipe Anderson and Manuel Lazini are both players that on their day would not look out of place at the Champions League level, while Andrii Yarmolenko and Jack Wilshere could feel like new signings if they can remain fit and deliver what they have shown in the past.

Actual signings Pablo Fornals and Sebastian Haller are both players that would not have looked out of place signing for teams that might have more expected of them this season – so it will be interesting to see how they perform for the Iron.

Throw in Noble and Rice to offer some consistency and steel in midfield and you start to build a picture of why they ended up where they did last season.

That all said, it does feel like sometimes the team does crumble under the pressure that their fervert fan base puts them under – especially at the London Stadium, which still feels far from home for this team, and where they have a recent history of form-draining heavy defeats.

I think that they have a steady hand at the tiller in Pellegrini, who will steer them right through the inevitable peaks and troughs that make up a standard season in East London, and at the end of it all we could well be surprised where they end up – I just won’t commit to whether that is lower or higher than we would imagine.

Ceiling – 8th

Floor – 16th