Given the changes that have taken place at Shimizu S-Pulse over the winter, new manager Afshin Ghotbi could be forgiven for playing down expectations in Shizuoka ahead of the new season.
As far as the much-traveled Iranian-American is concerned, however, even the departure of virtually the entire first team does not mean an improvement on last year's sixth-place finish is out of the question.
"I think change is good sometimes," the man whose resume includes stints as an assistant on Guus Hiddink's 2002 South Korea World Cup coaching staff and manager of the Iran national side said ahead of Shimizu's season-opening visit to Kashiwa Reysol on Saturday.