Bath Rugby chief executive Nick Blofeld hopes a settled coaching structure can help the club achieve their on-field ambitions this season.
The club undertook a large-scale overhaul of their coaching staff 12 months ago, with former South Africa assistant boss Gary Gold arriving to lead a new-look team including Mike Ford, Toby Booth and Neal Hatley.
A frustrating year saw Bath record several impressive results but ultimately fall one place short of the objective of returning to the Heineken Cup as they finished seventh in the Aviva Premiership.
After just missing out last term, Blofeld hopes the experience garnered by the coaches in a full year of working together will reap its rewards for Bath.
"We changed all the coaching set-up, the strength and conditioning and quite a few of the medical team last summer, so the rugby department have had a whole year together," said Blofeld.
"I think they have settled down and it does take a time to sort things out, no matter how structured and organised you are. I think that gelling process has happened.
"The key thing is to be in the Heineken Cup next season. I think there were three or four games last year which we should have won but let slip through the net. That makes a massive difference. We ended up seventh whereas we probably should have been about fifth.
"We haven't set specific targets but we want to be in that top six and I want to be knocking on the door of fourth, as that opens up all sorts of opportunities."
Bath owner Bruce Craig has overseen a hefty summer of recruitment, with 11 new players arriving at The Rec, and Blofeld says the 2013-14 squad is the most exciting he has seen in the four years he has been at the club.
"I think we have recruited very well," said Blofeld.
"I think we are going to have a very strong and powerful pack, which provides the platform and foundations for you to play. I think we've recruited some talented backs as well, so I am quietly confident.
"But nothing is a given. We can all think we have recruited brilliantly and this, that and the other but then look at what the others have done.
"Nobody is standing still. You have to be moving forward fairly quickly just to stay where you are in this league. We think we have done well but there are no guarantees for success."
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