Premier League survival guide: The secret to overcoming second-season syndrome

It is a battle of survival in the Premier League and last term the Terriers, the Seagulls and the Magpies all evolved and adapted to stay afloat in England's top flight.

The 2017-18 season was the first since 2011-12 in which all three newly-promoted outfits - Huddersfield, Brighton and Newcastle - survived but, after challenging starts to the new campaign, their Premier League reputations hang in the balance and an age-old football cliche looms large.

'Second-season syndrome' is a somewhat pedestrian term occasionally used by pundits or journalists who cannot fathom any other cause for a team's failures but there are times where it is all too real in football.

It refers to the scenario in which a team, normally a side new to the division, follows up a successful campaign with a disappointing one, which often concludes with relegation.

For the aspiring David Wagners and Chris Hughtons among you, here is a comprehensive guide to overcoming this common footballing ailment...

Less is more in the transfer market

We have all been there when virtually playing out our own imaginary managerial careers. Following a season of success, the temptation is to spend, spend, spend in order to progress further. This is not always the best, nor the most cost-effective, way forward.

Take Queens Park Rangers. Following promotion to the Premier League under the steady stewardship of Neil Warnock, the London club secured 17th spot and survived the plunge in their first season back in the big time.

Following much managerial mayhem and a scattergun approach in the transfer market, they finished rock bottom the following season and have since stagnated in England's second tier. Throughout that miserable 2012-13 campaign, the club brought in no fewer than 16 new first-team players.

The likes of Esteban Granero, Stephane Mbia and Julio Cesar all came through the door, completely remoulding the nucleus of the team which had earned promotion and then stayed there.

Esteban Granero (left) was part of a mass influx of players at QPR

Development and progression are often dependent on improving personnel and, naturally, new additions are required to freshen up a squad but taking it to the extreme can disrupt morale and become seriously harmful.

Signing a handful of high-quality players that will settle in and sharpen your options rather than a major overhaul is the way to go.

Have a Plan 'B'

It is a well-trodden path. A newly-promoted team come out fighting and look to play enterprising, exciting football. And it works, but not for long.

Very quickly the more experienced coach and the more established club will work this team out and, if they do not have an alternative game-plan to fall back on, they will suffer.

Blackpool in the 2010-11 season are a prime example. The Seasiders suffered relegation in their first and only Premier League campaign, fading out in the term's latter stages after a bright start.

The first few months saw them record comfortable victories away to the likes of Liverpool, Newcastle and Wigan by playing on the front foot without fear but just three wins in the second half of the season highlighted the absence of a Plan B.

Ian Holloway's side could not and would not sit back and grind out a result when required and they paid the penalty. This was only over the course of one season but it is something clubs who have already navigated a campaign of survival should consider.

Ian Holloway's Blackpool started their debut Premier League campaign in scintillating fashion

Huddersfield won just four matches by two or more goals last term. Their emphasis was defence and it paid dividends for Wagner and company.

However, as has been the case this season, as soon as that defensive resilience wanes, there are issues because the team is not creating opportunities in the final third.

The managerial lifespan in the Premier League is typically short for a reason. If one cannot alter, adapt and change their philosophy or system in order to string together results, they will be devoured in the dog-eat-dog world of top-flight football.

Teams should stick to one strategy and refuse to employ a Plan B at their peril.

Prioritise set-pieces

The likelihood is, if a club has only recently been promoted to the Premier League, they will be unable to match the dynamism and flair of the top six.

The developing style of Wolves and Fulham threatens to contradict that statement but even with their creative crop, they may have to rely on more traditional approaches on occasion if they are to churn out results.

England received their fair share of criticism at the World Cup this summer for their reliance on set-plays but, argue what you will, they played a crucial role in the Three Lions making the last four for the first time since 1990.

Clubs looking to preserve their top-flight status should look to adopt a similar approach to Southgate's men.

England's successful World Cup campaign was built around set-pieces

Until their relegation in the 2017-18 campaign, Stoke City were an established Premier League team with ten years of football at the English pinnacle under their belt. It all started with free-kick routines, co-ordinated corners and the long throw-ins of Rory Delap.

It is not the most aesthetically marvellous of approaches but it works and with clubs like Huddersfield and Cardiff short of the midfield magic, silky skill and prolificacy in front of goal that bigger clubs have in abundance, perhaps sticking to basics is the key to results.

Carousels are for the funfair, not the boardroom

It is equally important to keep things simple off the pitch as on it. Having been at the helm for just shy of six years, Eddie Howe is the Premier League's current longest serving manager, which underpins how short managerial tenures can be in England's elite division.

The days of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger are long gone but patience is a virtue and board members should not underestimate the lottery of tearing up their manager's contract midway through a campaign.

All three of last season's relegated sides had made changes in their respective dugouts by January 6th, while the likes of Huddersfield and Brighton stuck with Wagner and Hughton respectively throughout the entire campaign and survived.

Loyalty is often rewarded and barring widespread disapproval from the fans or the significant loss of the dressing room, it more often than not pays to stick by the man in the dugout.