I reckon with our choice of any manager in the world, or Jose, brought in on 1st June, and a glittering array of signings then 5th could be a very real possibility. No way would we win the premier league next year. I doubt we'd even break into the top 4 next year. It's that tough. Its not just about assembling great players, as we all know, and having sound tactics, but also the players need to really know each others play inside out and that doesn't just happen overnight.
If we keep Hughes, then i think we have a chance of 4th but only if his experience of this year has given him the right picture of what needs to be done to take us a couple of steps quickly.
And no i'm not a pessimist, most people would describe me as an eternal optimist.