Gianfranco Zola is confident his team are on the right road to survival but was taking nothing for granted before tonight's major meeting with Liverpool at Anfield.
The squad travelled up by coach on Sunday afternoon but regardless of the change in travel plans after the no-fly restrictions imposed across the country, nothing will deter Zola from the task at hand. The squad may have been grounded but he is keen to let his players' ambition and sense of adventure take flight.
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"The confidence is certainly higher than before but I am not complacent. I know what this season has been like. I will keep the pressure on the players and make sure they have the right attention when they go on the pitch on Monday. The only way to get out of this is to have a fighting spirit and that still remains.
"That is the good thing about football. Sometimes situations change quickly. We have just worked hard and have spent more time on the organisation of the team and more defensive work. That has produced some good results.
"Everyone is pulling in the same direction. The players in the team and those that are injured, they are all really focused on getting the best out of the season. They really want this team to stay up and do well."
While his players have newfound belief, Zola said overcoming adversity in the first half of the season will stand him in good stead now and in the future. "Without a doubt what has happened this season will make me a better manager. I am not joking when I say this season is worth five years of normal coaching experience.
"I will make the most out of it for sure. The players have a new belief. We got a very good result against Everton when they had won the previous seven matches. They had beaten Manchester United, Chelsea and others. We will not go to Liverpool beaten and will fight until the end."
While his team coped admirably without Scott Parker in last weekend's 1-0 win against Sunderland and will have to do so again, Liverpool have had their own selection concerns. Fernando Torres is out while Steven Gerrard could be forgiven for having an eye on Thursday's major European night.
"[Torres and Gerrard] are massive players for them," said Zola, well aware of their impact along with Glen Johnson and Javier Mascherano when Liverpool won the reverse fixture in September. "When they are on the pitch it is a big difference. They are important players for the team. It is a pity for them that they didn't have them for much of the season, they have had so many injuries. Their problems this season lie with that."
Indeed, it is the Reds and not their visitors who are in the spotlight now for off-field issues. "It is good after a year and a half that we are a little bit out of the spotlight,." Zola added. "It is OK. That will give the players the opportunity to work with more tranquillity and without it affecting their attention. It is vital. We are at the stage where we cannot afford any more mistakes. We have to be 100 per cent focused.
Zola has certainly not dwelt on his own "problems", despite previously losing Carlton Cole for a two months and injury-hit campaigns for the likes of Herita Ilunga, Jack Collison and Zavon Hines who promised so much.
With "everything smooth" off the pitch, nothing matters other than getting the necessary points. "We have to deal with this situation. It is not the time for talking any more."