Alan, who of course arrived at Upton Park midway through the last campaign after a spell of 'gardening leave' following his departure from Reading, says:
"We certainly have some stability now and hopefully we won't get disrupted too much by people leaving.
"That is going to be key, in terms of personnel coming in and out, that we don't get any weaker - but get stronger."
Looking back on the contrasts of the last two games of the campaign, with the defeat by Palace following the win over Ipswich, he adds:
"I think the overriding factor for me was that we didn't reach the level in Cardiff that we did in the semi-final second leg, and we have to accept that.
"It is gone now and we can't change it, but we are a better team than we showed on the day and we have to prove that next year by winning the league - and that is what we aim to do.
"Ipswich is the past, as the final is, but it was a great night and we showed that we can play in the big games.
"Next year we have to do it for 46 games - and make sure we don't go through what can happen in the playoffs, with a one-off situation where you don't play well and the season is over."