I'll be watching from the sidelines as we mark our return to the Premiership against Leeds on Saturday.

Although my broken toe is healing well I am not ready for the full-bloodied contact that is part and parcel of league action.

I have played in a practice game and am due for another 45-minute workout today, but the thought of making a tackle makes me cringe at this moment in time. That's the last thing I want to put my leg through.

It's all well and good taking part in training but when you get into a match you are expected to be 100 percent committed.

You can challenge someone in the air in training, but it's totally different in a match because when you land you have explode and sprint away, turn and check and things like that.

I am looking at being available for selection by the third game of the season. By then the foot should be totally healed and the only thing that might be of concern would be match fitness. But I will have had a few reserve outings under my belt by then and so I shouldn't be too far away.

Any earlier would be touch and go. But if situations arose that made it necessary for me to play a part I could be available for the bench. Then it becomes a question of what portion of a match I would be able to play.

To miss games so early in the season, though frustrating, is not so important. We have other players available and it's more important that I give myself the best chance possible of playing a prolonged part in the campaign.

I have played before when really I have known that I was not fit enough to be there. When you cross that white line onto the pitch people are not bothered whether you are carrying a knock or not, they expect you to be performing at 100 percent.

I learned from experience and vowed never to put myself on the bench unless I am totally happy with my fitness.

* * * *

This is bound to be an intriguing season, certainly for us, but also for those who will be either fighting for the championship or trying their best to avoid relegation.

As far as those at the top are concerned I don't think you can look beyond Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool, in that order. I might have said Leeds, but they are going through a transitional period under new manager Terry Venables. They have lost Rio Ferdinand to Manchester United and there is talk of new players coming in, so this could be a rebuilding time for them.

There will be a lot of pressure on Alex Ferguson's team to take the title away from Arsenal, especially as they ended last season trophyless. It would be unthinkable for them to go another year without anything for their cabinet, but personally I can't look past Arsenal. They have been and still are the team to beat.

At the other end, you have to say Birmingham and West Brom, who were promoted with us last year, will find it difficult.

I am not saying they are definites for relegation because in this game you never know. If they are able to string some wins together they will gain confidence that might see them stay up at the end.

But then again if they don't they could be looking at an early return to Division One.

They haven't spent anywhere near the amount of money we have at City during the summer. But they don't have the luxury of having 30,000 crowds week in week out.

They probably average between 15,000 and 20,000 and cannot bank on the same level of income as we do.

They will also have one eye on what happened to Bradford City who spent heavily when they were in the Premiership, were relegated and went into administration. Clubs have lost a lot of money with the collapse of TV company ITV Digital and Birmingham and West Brom will have taken this into account.

I don't think you will see any of these teams paying monster wages to players simply because of what could happen to them in the long term.

One thing I can say is that we won't be down at the bottom.

The manager, Kevin Keegan, has said he is looking for a top six finish and personally if we are any lower than 14th it will be a big surprise to me and a disappointment for all those connected with the club.

As players we are not even thinking about that and are aiming high. Our manager, and our fans, will settle for nothing less.