Mad isn’t it?

After more than four decades, we’re back where we don’t belong, and with a realistic chance of making the second tier a rather more natural home than it was in the 1970s and 80s.

Actually, scrap that. Hopefully we’ll make the Premier League our natural habitat. It’s great to be in the Championship, but maybe we’re just passing through?

It’s a mind-blowing thought, but not as crazy as it might sound. After all, blowing expectations away is what we’ve specialised in over recent years.

There was a certain amount of edginess at the end of last season as fans wondered whether we’d be able to cope with the definite rise in standards that The Championship represents.

Beyond our fans, a lot of people were far more forthright in suggesting we would fail if we moved a division higher!

Many of them were from the national media, who arrived expecting to see some Hollywood fantasy, and were disappointed to come across the serious business of a team grinding out results in a successful pursuit of promotion.

“This team won’t cope in the Championship” was the regular line I heard them tell their audience, who eagerly lapped up the prospect of our star-studded journey grinding to a halt.

I never followed their negative logic, partly because the team they were denigrating was quietly compiling a season which could only be bettered by Birmingham City, whose budget put everyone else’s in the shade.

However, I also knew, as anyone who’s really paying attention did, that we were always going to spend some serious money adding to that promotion-winning squad.

Look at the eleven which played the run-in last season: Scarr, Brunt, James, Longman, Rathbone, Dobson, Rodriguez and Smith were all players who arrived after promotion from League Two.

That’s a massive rebuild, achieved quite organically in a way which made it feel like a natural progression. At the very least, we were always going to replicate that this Summer.

We’ve made some real statement signings, and the first performances in a Wrexham shirt by Liberato Cacace, Josh Windass and Lewis O’Brien last Saturday showed what quality we’d drafted in. We didn’t stop there either!

The consequence is, the rest of the Championship must be looking at us and wondering exactly what they’ve got on their hands.

Three promotions in a row! There’s no metric to measure that against, because nobody’s ever done it before! They must be asking themselves what our ceiling is. Is it possible we’ll just tear through the Championship as well?

There’s widespread talk of consolidation amongst the supporters, and I get that. It was the same a year ago, though, and look how that ended up!

Clearly, The Championship is a very different beast to League One, and a massive challenge. I wouldn’t reject consolidation if it happens, but my mindset has been changed by the owners.

Rob, Ryan and the Allyn Family haven’t put their money where their mouths are so they can tread water.

They’ve converted me. I’m no longer a pessimist, but I don’t think I’ve become an optimist. I’m a realist. Our trajectory is takes us upwards, and I don’t need to look further than the facts to convince myself of that.

We’ve got unprecedented momentum coming into the campaign, a committed fanbase who are going to make a real impact with their passion and colour, and a manager who continues to take full advantage of the superb backing he’s received in terms of transfer funds and infrastructure.

Once more, the owners’ ability to take the obvious decisions is bearing fruit: surround a good man with good people and you’ve maximised your chances of success.

Saturday is a heck of a challenger, of course. Southampton have just come down from the Premier League, and although that was a chastening experience, they’ve retained a lot of quality players who will ultimately benefit from it.

Some fine players have left them this Summer, and more could follow, but the chances are they will feel that heat as the transfer deadline approaches. This weekend, they’ll be fielding the players the Premier League and top European clubs are sniffing around.

Our first win under Parkinson came in the second game of the 2021-22 season, literally adjacent to Southampton Airport, at Eastleigh.

Four years later, we get to play Southampton proper. The club of Kevin Keegan, Alan Shearer, Matt Le Tissier and the 1976 FA Cup final. The club that broke Sir Alex Ferguson’s mind and made him scared of grey clothing!

It’s beyond belief, but we’re all believers.

Let the insanity commence!