Understandably, Jones will be a proud man when his team walks out to face Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park in their opening Premiership fixture. More than three years after losing his job as manager of Southampton in the wake of unproven and groundless child abuse allegations, Jones will certainly command the sympathy vote when the season begins but is under no illusions about the task facing him.

"The Premiership has got harder since I was last a part of it," Jones told TheFA.com in an exclusive interview. "There are better players in it now, more savvy players perhaps. Every league gets stronger as the years go on and of course there's a little bit of trepidation.

"But I've really missed the buzz of pitting my wits against the best. The media interest has been a bit manic and sure, I could be doing something different but that's part of the job. The hype has been intense but at the end of the day, I have a job to do."

Jones cannot pinpoint any particular club or manager he feels will pose a particular surprise but is excited by the thrill of it all.

"Every club we go to will now be a big club, every game a full house, huge expectation levels. Everything is multiplied. Of course when we come up against the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea, they're the big hitters. But we're going into the division wanting to compete with 10 or 12 teams.

That's what I'm trying to drum home to the players. There's a big incentive for them because everyone expects us to trip up."

Jones feels he is better equipped now to deal with the next nine months than when he was at Southampton and that has already recorded his finest achievement to date by steering Wolves into the top flight, a challenge that eluded so many of his predecessors.

"This time I'm taking a club into the Premiership and have to lay the foundations. Southampton were already in the process of growing. I don't feel I've changed as a person, I simply feel I'm back in a division I never deserved to have taken away from me."

Jones has inevitably strengthened the Wolves squad, bringing in a string of new signings including Steffen Iversen from Spurs, Oleg Luzhny from Arsenal, Senegalese forward Henri Camara, Portuguese striker Silas and Jody Craddock from Sunderland. Despite this, he'll be missing no fewer than five injured regulars for the start of the campaign, not easy for a promoted club.

"It's tough because they are all important to us but I think Silas has a terrific future in the game because of his ability.

Jones believes the decision by veterans Paul Ince and Denis Irwin to stay at the club for one more year will prove crucial to their survival hopes.

"We're not kidding ourselves how hard it's going to be but the one big thing we have in our favour is that we have people who have played in the Premiership before. Not just Ince and Irwin. It's nothing new either to Mark Kennedy or Nathan Blake.

"I have had to work within a budget and move in a market where players were affordable," continued Jones.

"I'd love to go out and splash £5m on one player but that's not possible - yet. As far as the Premiership is concerned, we're not a big club and what I've tried to do is spread the money, to bring in a little bit of experience as well as people who are going to stand the club in good stead for many years to come.

"People say we're relegation fodder but I'm not going into the Premiership to stay there for one season. I know it will be hard - the first season is always the toughest. But a lot of bigger-name managers have been here before me and I've already gone one step further than any of them."

Dave Jones was talking to Andrew Warshaw