Pompey head into their first European campaign on the back of their best season for more than half a century.

An FA Cup triumph and eighth spot in the Premier League was previously unexplored territory in the lifetimes of the majority of Blues fans.
But James wants even more this time around.

Buoyed by the arrival of Peter Crouch and the presence of Jermain Defoe and Lassana Diarra for the entire season, England's keeper is convinced anything less would be a massive disappointment.

And he has called on his Blues colleagues to keep on progressing and aiming high.

He said: 'It would be a bad season if we finished eighth.

'I would consider it to be something of a failure. You have to keep improving and last season was an improvement on the season before.

'Cups are wonderful, an incredible experience, especially the day after seeing 200,000 people at the parade.

'That sort of thing will stay with you forever.

'But the quality of your outfit is judged by your performance in the league and we have the opportunity to improve on last season.

'I signed for the club in the first instance with the objective to survive. Now we expect more than that. We are not that team anymore.
'You have to set standards.

'The team is growing and learning. We now understand our roles and jobs within the team.

'There is still room for improvements, though.

'We beat the best team in Europe in Manchester United to get to the FA Cup final, but you are not going to beat them every time you play them.

'There was also the down side of the run in when we didn't pick up enough points in the last four or five league games.

'We can improve and we have to improve. Eighth again is not good enough.
'It would have to be better this time around.'

James' insatiable appetite for success is an admirable one. But he would also dearly love to achieve greater heights for the man who brought him to the south coast.

He added: 'In the build-up to the Cup final, I saw Harry was voted as Portsmouth's greatest-ever manager.

'I believe his highest-ever finish as manager was fifth with West Ham.

'That was a team with the likes of Rio Ferdinand and other super youngsters.

'Maybe we can get him into new territory this season and beat even that.'