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By Alec Johnson
Ignore the negative title - readers of my previous Forza Swansea blogs and those that engage with me on Twitter understand that in over 10k tweets to date you would struggle to find a single negative message.
However, looking at our perennial and lofty position suggests small steps of progress since our arrival in the Premier League, and a realistic acceptance that this is as far as it goes for us.
It's certainly not the end of the road, but the vision and ambition must now switch to consolidation and cup runs, not attacking the big fellas occupying the spaces above us. Rolling that dice is the recipe for Portsmouth, or even our nasty neighbours.
While it's a privilege going into the final matches without any pressure, there is a feeling of complacency in the club - not on the pitch but among so many fans.
Last weekend we won at St James Park. No, this wasn't against Exeter in the bottom division, but the Premier League version and so called 'Giant of the North', Newcastle. Yet so many fans were moaning like a bad mother in law. Our gang of international heavyweights were getting slaughtered by the East Stand's loonie brigade.
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| Cups: Where Swansea's ambitions should lie in the relatively near future |
Back in the real world, a recent report showed that in our past 100 seasons we average a league finish in the mid thirties out of the 92 clubs. I was surprised that it was that high after our past fifty years which realigns our place at an ugly 57th - that's League One as we know it.
Also currently looking at the seven clubs above us, only 11 seasons in that period has one of them not won the league, so we're in great company up there.
Yet some still aren't satisfied.
The ambition within the club remains in tact, capable of satisfying a modern day Caesar; adjusting the goals year on year to recruit better players, attract more commercial partners, build the Swans brand globally and invest in the club infrastructure.
All of this will secure our status as the stable and efficient top half club in the Premier League, slowly helping us to lose the 'over achievers' tag often bolted onto our brand. We can expect exciting news through the close season relating to more lucrative deals for pre-season tours, merchandise, expansion and commercial partnerships.
It's an advantage that our board sees no limit to the possibilities and won't settle for mid table in any facet of the Premier League. Collectively they don't accept the realism of our position and that ambition has no bounds.
So, given the fifty points racked up this season with two winnable and two dodgy games left, a mid fifties total is on the cards. That exceeds my optimistic pre-season forecast of 49 by some so it's difficult to see how much further we can go than what we've achieved this season, perhaps other than adding a big fat FA Cup title to our cabinet.
This record breaking season deserves some real fanfare to sign it off as it may not get better than this. The only way is down; but please resist from singing 'the Jacks are staying up'! That pain relieving song is unwelcome in these parts, despite many predicting that we would be singing it for the past four seasons.
The Jacks are here to stay.
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