Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has urged his team-mates to focus on the challenges which lie ahead, and not to dwell too much on their dramatic Premier League success last season, if they are going to continue to grow.
The Belgian international has spent his summer travelling the globe in aid of charity and to promote the club worldwide, and the defender has admitted that it is only now that he truly appreciates the impact of his side's last-gasp title triumph.
The 26-year old recognises that Sergio Aguero's stoppage-time winner against QPR will forever be etched into City's folklore, but has admitted they need to put it behind them now and move on to future successes.
“There’s so much more great stuff ahead of us, and that’s what interests me,” Kompany told The Mirror.
“If you lay down the right foundations, you can be successful for a long time and that’s the aim.
“I’ve been to far too many places to remember this summer, but the main thing is that everywhere I’ve been, everyone had apparently seen the game or heard about that last day of the season, so you do realise that now we’ve made an impact worldwide.
“The last game of the season is one that will remain a very strong part of our history.
“We’ll be speaking about that game for 50 or 100 years to come. But one of the main things for me is not looking back at this game for too long. I just want to move on.
“It’s been a big story all over the world. But, again, it’s over now and I’m just looking forward. It’s about what lays ahead for us.”
City have a tough pre-season fixture list, with games against Premier League rivals Arsenal scheduled, along with the Community Shield encounter with FA Cup winners Chelsea.
Last season's tradition curtain-raiser was a tough pill to swallow for the Blues, as they squandered a two-goal lead and fell to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of rivals Manchester United, but Kompany is determined to right those wrongs this time around.
“It was a disappointing moment for us, me in particular,” he added. “We were a game late into our preparation then.
“I’m convinced this time we’re going to have a strong performance. Pre-season is massive. If you have a good pre-season, you usually have a good season. It’s such an important part of our whole campaign.
“When you play football it’s not just the months spent playing in the Premier League that are important. It’s almost as if you have a full 11 months of football."