MICHAEL Laudrup concedes his Swansea City side will not be at their best when their competitive campaign kicks off in a little over two weeks' time.
But the Swansea manager is convinced he has assembled a squad who are capable of thriving once more next season.
After a turbulent summer, life at the Liberty Stadium has settled down.
Much of the close season was dominated by talk of Bayram Tutumlu, of Laudrup's unhappiness with Swansea's transfer policy and of where else the Dane might end up managing come August.
Yet the dust has now settled and, though his agent does not get on with his boss, Laudrup is content.
And, crucially, his team is shaping up nicely.
Michael Laudrup talks after the game:Intriguing
Swansea are preparing for what promises to be an intriguing 2013-14, when they must tackle the three domestic competitions as well as the Europa League.
Laudrup's players are enjoying a few days off — they will return to training on Wednesday — after victory over Den Haag this weekend ensured they came through their pre-season trip to Holland with an unblemished record.
If their forthcoming forays into Europe are anything like as successful as this one in terms of results, it could be quite some year.
There will be far tougher assignments ahead, of course, for only one of the four Dutch sides Swansea faced during their ten-day stay were fully professional.
It is hard to draw too many conclusions from games against amateur or semi-professional opposition, but what is clear right now is that the mood within the Swansea camp is bright.
With five new faces on board, Jonathan de Guzman back for another season-long loan and no serious sign of any big-name departures, Swansea's current squad is arguably the strongest ever built in SA1.
"I am excited," Laudrup said as the curtain fell on Swansea's stay in the Netherlands.
The skipper speaks after the Den Haag win:"I feel we have a very strong squad where I have a lot of possibilities.
"When we start the competitions we have so many options, and that's great for a manager.
"It is important because hopefully, we will play more games than last season."
Exactly how much work Laudrup's players will have to do depends on whether they can reach the group stage of the Europa League.
They must progress through two knockout rounds to get that far, with the first leg of their maiden tie in the competition to come on August 1.
Should Swansea progress through the third qualifying round and then a play-off at the end of next month, their fixture list will feature European games right through until December at the very least.
"From the first day of training to the Europa League it's only four weeks, so I felt it was important the players had a long holiday," Laudrup added.
"Most of them had six weeks. Now we have had ten days in Holland, then three days off and then a couple more games.
"Suddenly we will be at July 27 when we play Reading, and that is five days away from our European debut.
"Our preparation is good, but of course we will not be 100 per cent on August 1 and August 8.
"We can't be, but we don't have to be. Hopefully, even if we are not at our very best level, we will still be good enough to get through to the next round.
"I don't know who we will play but, after ten days, we are looking in good shape."
Concerns over the future of Ashley Williams may not go away until the transfer window closes at the beginning of September, for the stories about Arsenal persist.
But for now all concerned at the Swansea end insist they know nothing about Arsene Wenger's alleged interest, and Laudrup is hopeful that he will not lose any of his big names.
With the likes of Wilfried Bony, Jonjo Shelvey and Jose Canas finding their feet at Swansea — and the promise of one more centre-forward to come — Laudrup's optimism is understandable.
Back in the spring, he was quick to remind all concerned that merely matching the feats of last season would take a mighty effort from his team.
That remains the case now, but Laudrup is talking more positively about the prospects for his second campaign at the helm.
"Right now it seems we are stronger than we were last year," he said.
"We have players to compete inside the squad, and we will need all of them during the season. It's important people are there and ready."
Laudrup says the battle for starts has already been noticeable on the training ground, with the scrap in midfield looking particularly intense.
Shelvey did his cause no harm with another bright display on Saturday, with the best moment of his impressive performance coming when he sliced the Den Haag defence apart in the 21st minute.
Wayne Routledge latched on to Shelvey's pass and delivered an even better finish, scooping the ball over the goalkeeper and into the net.
Swansea ought to have been further in front after a first half they dominated, but Routledge fired another effort wide and Michu flashed a header then a volley just past the upright.
Bony entered the fray as the mass changes began at half-time, and his Swansea debut was bright enough even though he did not score.
The £12 million man held the ball up well, he brought new team-mates into play and drew a couple of smart saves from Den Haag stopper Gino Coutinho.
He might have scored twice, but first Alejandro Pozuelo — who chose to shoot rather than pass — and then Roland Lamah — who made a mess of his centre — failed to tee the new boy up.
No matter. You get the impression Bony's time will come soon enough.
On this occasion Swansea came through without a goal from their new striker, Gerhard Tremmel keeping a clean sheet with relative ease despite an improved performance from the Eredivisie side after the break.
"It's always good to win games," Laudrup pointed out.
"It's a good habit to have wherever you are in the season."
