NOTTINGHAM Forest is a club that is synonymous with expectation. So it will not be a surprise that Stuart Pearce has a few expectations of his own.
One of those is that he does fully expect to win promotion; he clearly envisages the club securing a return to the top flight, at some point in the future. He will not put a precise time frame on it. But he believes two things.
Firstly, he is steadfast in his conviction that it will not be easy. He knows only too well what a difficult challenge escaping the Championship can be. But, tellingly, he does expect it to happen.
In one of the first talks he had with Fawaz Al Hasawi, the Forest owner made it clear that was his ambition – Premier League football.
And, in turn, the first meeting Pearce himself held with the players and staff at Forest, he delivered the same message. He too expects to win promotion. That is very much the goal.
"When we first spoke in March about me coming through the door, he (the chairman) said to me that his ambition was to get into the Premier League," said Pearce.
"I would be surprised if there is any chairman in the Championship who does not share that ambition.
"I would also be very disappointed if I sat with the chairman now and he said his ambition was just to stay in the Championship.
"How long that will take? I would not like to put a time on it.
"But I know it is a driving passion for me to make sure that, at some stage under my tenure, this club do get into the Premier League.
"I will do my damnedest to get them there."
It is clear from his frequent references to how much backing he has been given by the Forest hierarchy that Pearce has already struck up a positive relationship with Al Hasawi when it comes to the signings they have made so far this summer – and continue to target.
And, when it comes to planning, Pearce (pictured) has a clear blueprint for success he wants to implement at the City Ground.
"We have never had a conversation about when it (promotion) has to happen, with the owner," he said.
"He has been around football long enough to realise it is just a number, a date, it does not mean anything. You have to build your football club.
"You have to put all your building blocks in place before you get to the promised land. You cannot just arrive with this mission statement of 'we are going to get in the Premier League', not without putting the building blocks in place.
"That is probably where England have fallen foul over the last few years. They have been trying to win a World Cup without properly understanding what it takes to get to that.
"Here, we are trying to build a squad and a culture; we are trying to make sure there is a contentment around the squad; that everyone is together. That will be done. In a short space of time we have taken some giant steps.
"I have brought players to the club, I have also allowed one or two to leave. Ten went in the summer then (Rafik) Djebbour has gone, Radi (Majewski) has gone and (Darius) Henderson is as well. There is a sea change happening.
"But I have to make sure the players we bring in are going to be useful to us, when it comes to finding those building blocks that will get us promotion."
Pearce, while focused on his task, is not guilty of underestimating the size of it.
Championship success is about consistency and the manager accepts this is a quality Forest have lacked for too long.
"There was a disappointment last season that the club tailed off towards the end," he said. "But the Championship is a league where teams can win six games and lose six games in a row.
"There is no rhyme and reason to it. We have to create a team that is good enough to keep the averages up. If you lose one game, you make sure that you do not lose another.
"That is the mentality you need. If you win a game, you look to win a succession of games to take you up the league."
Pearce, in fact, admits the starting point for any side looking to win promotion is to look to be better than the three relegated clubs who, in terms of financial resources at least, have an immediate advantage.
Although he expects Norwich, Fulham and, to a lesser extent, Cardiff will all have their eyes opened quickly if they expect to cruise out of the division.
"It is fair to say the gap might be growing, when it comes to those teams coming down from the Premier League," he said.
"Those teams with the parachute payments will be, by rights, the three favourites to go up. On paper at least.
"It is only a change in their mentality that might hold them back. I have been relegated with Forest, into this league. But I have also been promoted out of this league, with Manchester City and with Forest.
"I know what it takes to win promotion. But I also know the mentality that teams can have when they come down. It can be easy to think the league is going to be easy, that you will get straight back into the Premier League. You can have an alarming wake-up call.
"If you think this is a comfortable, easy league to get out of – it is anything but. The standards are so high."
The one thing Pearce does not expect is that his position as a fans' favourite as a player will earn him any additional respect as a manager.
"I don't expect that in football. Every time I have left a football club, I have hoped that I have given good service. When I have looked to walk back through the door, I don't walk back through an open door – I ask to come back through it," he said.
"I enjoy the fact that there is expectation on my shoulders. I would never shirk that. But, if I get good will, that good will has to come from growth and good performances that the fans see at this club.
"I still have to earn that."
Every Forest fan will hope to see Pearce flourish as a manager. Some, even, might expect him to.
But when it comes to expectation levels, few will exceed those that Pearce has himself.
