Aston Villa chief executive Keith Wyness has admitted pressure will be on the club’s players to succeed next season after their report card for 2016-17 was “a fail”.
The 59-year-old also stated that there would be “no excuses” if the side underperform as they did this season.
The Birmingham giants eventually finished 13th in the Championship in 2016-17, a year after being relegated from the Premier League.
Meanwhile Newcastle were promoted as champions, alongside Brighton Hove and Albion, who finished second, and Huddersfield and Reading will battle it out for the final promotion spot in the play-off final next Monday.
The Birmingham Mail claims that Steve Bruce and his players will be told by owner Tony Xia that a top-six finish is the minimum next season.
“There is going to be some pressure on,” Wyness told the Birmingham Mail. “This is a key season for a number of players.
“We will make sure we are equipped and we are really going to do this right. With the training regimes and the way we are going to do things, I am really sure we will get it right this year. There are no excuses.”
Bruce has also been told he must do better next season after a disappointing campaign in charge at Villa Park.
“The report card from last season was a fail so we must do better,” added Wyness. “There was too much change but this year I’m convinced we will get it right.”
The former Birmingham, Sunderland and Hull boss took the reins at Villa in October of last year.
When Bruce was appointed the side sat 19th in the table, however they went seven games unbeaten during his first seven games in charge, seeing them climb away from trouble and eventually securing a mid-table finish.
During his playing career Bruce played more than 400 games in all competitions for Man United, and won three Premier League titles while at the club.