The Southampton masses must already be feeling nervous, ahead of their team's playoff pilgrimage to Middlesbrough on Saturday.
Of course, the Saints were near flawless through the latter stages of the regular Championship campaign, with a 3-1 win on the road at Preston North End on the final day solidifying a 19-match unbeaten run.
But the playoffs bring about an unease, irrespective of what has come before, with the South Coast side having to hold their nerve across three nail-biting games, potentially, before sealing promotion back to the Premier League.
This is brand-new territory for Tonda Eckert, who is a rookie manager when it comes to the trials and tribulations of the playoffs, so he will hope he can rely on these more seasoned faces to get his team over the line.
Eckert will rely on these experienced Southampton players
Eckert could have to make do without Jack Stephens for the first leg clash at the Riverside Stadium, with no real timescale given for when the experienced defender could be back.
For the German's sake, the hope will be that he can return in some capacity for the playoffs, as the Saints captain was ever-present during the 2024 playoff campaign, which ended with Russell Martin and Co. beating Leeds United to seal a Premier League return.
Away from those injured, Flynn Downes will be back available for selection after serving a late-season suspension, who featured alongside Stephens during these previous playoff exploits, with Ryan Manning also in line to start in the left-back spot, having even popped up with a goal in the playoffs before for the Saints.
This isn't the greatest shock, though, as the Irishman has eight goals next to his name this season in regular action, so he might pop up with another memorable effort against Kim Hellberg's hosts.
There is another key first-teamer, who hasn't been mentioned yet, who has shone in a tense playoff format before, despite experiencing his first season in England right now.
Leo Scienza will also back himself to be a playoff hero
While Cyle Larin and Daniel Peretz are very much in the conversation to be Southampton's most impactful signing this season, with Larin scoring eight blistering goals from nine Saints starts, and the Bayern Munich loanee being a comfortable pair of gloves, Leo Scienza arguably sneaks ahead in the running ahead of this duo.
Indeed, the Brazilian attacker needed very little time to acclimatise to the demands of the second tier, after leaving Heidenheim behind last summer, with a standout seven goals and ten assists next to his name in second-tier action, placing him firmly on Premier League shopping lists.
If he is to leave in the summer, he will hope his parting gift will be another memorable strike in the playoffs, as he was Heidenheim's last-gasp hero last season, when facing Elversberg in the Bundesliga's unique relegation playoff showdown.
Every season, the team that finishes 16th in the German top-flight faces off against the team that ended the campaign in third in the Bundesliga 2, with the prize on the line either staying put in the Bundesliga or sealing promotion up a league, depending on the final outcome.
Scienza's former side had their Bundesliga reputation on the line in May last year, and after a 2-2 draw in the first leg, everything was to play for in the second leg, away from Heidenheim's home ground.
With the second leg match-up locked at 1-1, heading into stoppage time right at the end of the contest, it looked as if this relegation playoff was going the distance.
That was until the brand-new Saints star popped up with an unbelievable 95th-minute winner, to steer FCH to a jaw-dropping 4-3 win on aggregate, with Eckert keeping his fingers crossed that the tricky South American could pop up with another moment of sublime magic for Southampton if needs be.
It will likely take an entire team effort to move back into the Premier League, but the playoffs were made for unbelievable moments of individual quality.
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