Steve Bruce is eagerly anticipating the upcoming Premier League season with Hull City.
The former Sunderland boss guided the Tigers back into the top flight last campaign and is now looking to establish the club among the country's best sides.
Bruce said he would use clubs such as Wigan Athletic, Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion as motivation.
"We're all looking forward to it," Bruce told Sky Sports News. "I think when I looked at the fixtures, especially the first six away fixtures, I knew we were back in the big time as it couldn't have been any more difficult.
"We worked extremely hard last year and managed to get in the big league. We're all looking forward to it now and we hope to make a fist of it, enjoy ourselves, and try and survive. That's got to be the aim.
"We know how hard it is. The Premier League has been in place for 20-odd years and there have been eight teams in there from day one. 45 teams have competed in it, so we know how difficult it is for clubs like ours to survive.
"But I look at my former club Wigan and how they did it for years. Swansea now, and West Brom, are role models that show it's achievable.
"It's going to be difficult, we're under no illusions. We've got to make sure we're competitive and make a fist of it, and that's all we can do. We hope we can surprise a few people like we did last year in the Championship."
