The former Hammers defender, who experienced the pain of relegation at Upton Park twice during his 10-year career with the club, believes that an early march to the top of the table will not only help to breed confidence on the pitch, but also calm the general insecurity that surrounds any club that loses top-flight status nowadays.
"A good start is absolutely vital, in fact imperative," says Tony. "Not just for the players, who would grow in confidence and get the crowd behind them early on, but also for financial reasons.
"Football now is a business, of course, and if things are not going well, the banks begin to get twitchy. The worry is that they start to call loans in and put all kinds of pressure on the club, and you only have to look at the example of Ipswich Town last season to see how damaging a poor start to the season can be.
"If we can get off to a flyer and put a high number of points on the board early on, then it allows that bit of breathing space, helps everyone feel a bit more settled, and will hopefully provide a platform for the team to go from strength to strength.
"I'm sure the players will realise how important it is to start well and if they show the right approach from the word go, then there is no reason why we can not bounce back straight away."
With the players having returned for pre-season training this week, the countdown is now on to our opening match of the new season, at Preston North End on August 9, a fixture that Tony belives will give Glenn Roeder's men the perfect opportunity to prove they are ready for the fight ahead.
"It's been a strange summer, we were all waiting for the fixture list to be released and, when it finally came out, I think that was when the whole thing really sunk in,"he says.
"There aren't many glamour games in the First Division, and that will be hard to get used to after playing big games every other week in the Premiership, but the players have got to be ready for the fight. We go to Preston on the first day of the season, then we have Sheffield United at home and Rotherham away after that.
"They are all going to be tough matches. Teams will be looking at the visit to Upton Park as the cup final of their season, and they will be thinking that we won't fancy going to their place. We have got to prove that we are ready for it, and the trip to Preston gives us an early chance to do just that.
"Attitude is the key word. It's no good having skill, pace and technique if you haven't got the desire and attitude to back it up. Last season, I think many people believed that we were too good to go down, and sadly the attitude didn't change until it was too late.
"Towards the end of the season, the players were showing the kind of determination and character that so nearly kept them up, and it is vital they display that kind of approach at the start of the season if we are to be up there challenging for promotion. Personally, I think they will, and if the attitude is right then I would expect them to be too strong for other teams."
With the transfer market now beginning to swing into action, Upton Park has unsurprisingly been the target of much media speculation in recent days and, with the club having already admitted that one or two departures may be necessary, Tony admits the next few weeks could be a testing time for Hammers fans.
"Things have been fairly quiet over the last month, with most people on holiday, but the transfer market is beginning to hot up again now," he says. "It's an uneasy time for the players, many of them are being linked with various moves, and we are all wondering what is going to happen in the next couple of weeks.
"In an ideal world, you would like to see all the players stay, because that would give us the best possible chance of making a quick return, but unfortunately that doesn't appear likely.
"The big hope is that we can keep hold of the young players who have come through the ranks in the last couple of years, and it does seem that the doubt surrounding Jermain Defoe has died down, which is excellent news. When you look at Svetoslav Todorov scoring 20 goals for Portsmouth last season, it's possible that Jermain could hit 25 or 30 if he gets the right service this year.
"He is still only 20-years-old and hopefully he can be persuaded that a year in Division One wouldn't harm his career, because his goals could play a huge part."
Meanwhile, Tony is also pleased to see Glenn Roeder back in charge after making a wonderful recovery from the brain tumour that kept him out of action at the end of last season.
"Let's hope that Glenn gets back into it straight away and enjoys the fortune this season that he deserves," he says.
"I saw his wife Faith, recently, and she has been through the mill almost as much as Glenn has. They are an extremely close family and have been through a hell of a lot in the last few months.
"For their sake, I hope Glenn takes West Ham back into the Premiership at the first attempt. He is back doing what he loves best - coaching and guiding the players - and he will be working harder than ever to make sure this is a successful campaign."