Gary Rowett says he is only looking up the table after being appointed Millwall boss, despite the club being just five points clear of the Championship relegation zone.
He replaces Neil Harris at the helm, who left the club after seven games without a win and languishing close to the bottom three.
But Rowett insists he is undoubtedly aiming to hit the heights of the 2017-18 season when they finished eighth.
He said: "I wouldn't have taken the job if I didn't think we could look upwards.
"There's always going to be slight limitations with the Championship in terms of where you can get to or rather how quick you can get there.
"I've experienced it previously at jobs where we've taken teams that are down the bottom and climbed the table pretty quickly.
"Like I said, the foundations are here to do that. Not just with the team but the club and the way it's run. The real humility around the place is a big thing."
Rowett's last job was in charge of Stoke, where he was sacked in January after a run of one win in five league games.
Ironically, his first game in charge of Millwall is against Stoke and, despite failing to win promotion back to the Premier League, the 45-year-old says he learned a lot from his time at the Potters.
"I was very fortunate to be manager of Stoke and I respect the owners for giving me that opportunity. But when the opportunity goes, it's about trying to learn and move forward," Rowett said.
"We had a quite a positive experience at three clubs previously. That one didn't work out so well but, in some ways, that's probably been one of the most valuable experiences for me so far."
Since he left Stoke, Rowett has been linked with various Championship jobs, including QPR and Sheffield Wednesday.
But the former defender claims that he wanted to wait for the right opportunity to come about.
Rowett said: "When you leave a job and it hasn't worked out how you wanted it to, it's important you make the right decision.
"I felt, this time, it was about waiting for the right opportunity and the right club and the right fit. I felt that was important.
"I was aware that patience might lead me to the right opportunity and this was one I was really excited about."