WITH thoughts on Wearside already turning to the top-flight, Danny Collins has admitted that Roy Keane's thirst for success means that nobody is guaranteed a place in the Sunderland side for the opening game of next season.
Skipper Dean Whitehead was the only Sunderland player to make more senior appearances than Collins this season as the versatile defender made the left-back slot his own.
A string of impressively composed defensive displays helped earn the Black Cats the Championship title, and suggested that the 26-year-old will be capable of handling the step up to the Premiership.
But with Keane expected to spend up to £25m in an attempt to strengthen his squad this summer, Collins is likely to find himself with a number of new defensive rivals when he returns for the start of pre-season training in July.
And while his Championship-winning exploits will surely count for something, the Wales international is sensible enough to accept that he will effectively be starting from scratch in two months time.
"The gaffer will bring more players in and it will be nice to be a part of that," said Collins, who started the final 18 matches of Sunderland's season.
"The signings will bring extra competition and nobody can assume they'll be starting next season just because of what's happened since Christmas. We'll all be starting again when we start with pre-season.
"We know we have to up our game again from the Championship. The stats don't lie and the distances covered and energy levels demanded are an awful lot higher at Premiership level. We're going to have to work even harder in the summer to make sure we're capable of handling that."
While winning the Championship title is an achievement for any player, the success has been all the sweeter for the remaining members of last season's squad.
After contributing to the worst campaign in Premiership history, the likes of Collins, Nyron Nosworthy, Whitehead and Daryl Murphy have restored their reputation in the second tier of the English game.
The critics have been forced to eat their words, but Collins insists that the rehabilitative process will not be complete until the Black Cats have established themselves in the Premiership. And with a number of high-profile players expected to arrive on Wearside this summer, the former Chester defender is confident there will be no repeat of last season's struggles.
"We want to go up there and try to prove that we're capable of performing at the highest level," said Collins. "Of the players that are still here from that last time, I'm sure there'll be an even bigger determination to avoid the same fate.
"To be honest, though, I really don't think that will be an issue. I'm 100 per cent certain that won't happen because the talk is not about struggle - it's about enjoying a good season.
"I really feel that, when we go up this time, we can be a real force. The gaffer has been saying that he's not going up there to make up the numbers, and there's no reason why anyone should not believe him."
Sunderland's pre-season preparations will begin with July's tour of Ireland but, for now, the celebration of the club's Championship success refuses to die down.
The players finally lifted the trophy at a private dinner function on Monday night, but Collins prefers to remember the jubilant scenes at Luton as a fitting finale to a memorable campaign.
"It was a great, great occasion and the scenes will never be forgotten," he said. "Outside on the pitch was fantastic, and then inside the dressing room with the champagne corks popping was amazing.
"The fans were incredible because they seemed to be everywhere. It was great to beat Burnley in front of 46,000 supporters in our final home game at the Stadium of Light. But winning 5-0 to win the league on Sunday was probably even more memorable."
Daryl Murphy, Anthony Stokes, Liam Miller and Stephen Elliott are in the Republic of Ireland squad for this month's tour of the United States.
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