Ambition born out by Leeds's quality in the ranks

Twelve months ago, Leeds went into their first season back in the Premiership with a single goal – avoiding relegation.

That was achieved courtesy of their against-all-odds mentality and the sheer physicality of their forward pack.

When the new season gets underway against Bath at Headingley Carnegie on Sunday, Leeds will be aiming much higher with Heineken Cup qualification their dream scenario but lower mid-table a more realistic and achievable target.

To accomplish that goal Key acknowledges that Leeds need to add finesse to their brute force.

To that end, skilful and penetrating backs Lachlan Mackay, Michael Stephenson and Semi Tadulala have been added to a squad that Key believes will have a better attacking dimension this season.

"We have built a squad that has different styles and is adaptable," said the director of rugby who begins his third season alongside head coach Neil Back.

"Nothing will change with how we go about our game in terms of presence. What has changed though is the players on the field are now of a better quality.

"If that means winning games through the forwards then we have the forwards to do that.

"If it means going out wide to win a game we now believe we have the backs to do that as well.

"With the eight senior guys we've brought in, five of those have been capped, and it's given us a good mix of experience and people who have played at the highest level.

"The good thing about this season is we have built a squad that is competitive within itself.

"For instance at hooker we have an England international in Steve Thompson, a guy who wants to get back into the international fold in Andy Titterrell and a young guy in Phil Nilsen hungry to make a name for himself.

"Then at scrum-half there's Scott Mathie and Warren Fury who's a former Wales international. We've got some great competition in the squad this year."

Eleven players were brought in during a busy summer for Leeds, with 14 shown the exit door as the coaching duo looked to build on the first two seasons of promotion and survival.

Merely competing to avoid relegation, though, is no longer a strong enough motivation.

"Relegation is not a thought in our heads," said Key of Leeds's readjusted ambitions. "Last season was a season that challenged us to develop an approach and a style that was competitive, and we proved we had achieved that long before the Worcester game.

"We now look for the dizzy heights. Ninth or above is the immediate target, anything above that would be outstanding, and a place in the Heineken Cup would be unbelievable.

"The squad isn't even considering relegation. For us this is the start of a new journey."

The respect Leeds earned last season by defying the odds adds further weight to Key's belief that Leeds will have to be adaptable in their tactics this season.

"The respect is there because of what we did last season and that brings different challenges and problems," said Key, who as well as Bath, has to pick a team to face Gloucester, Saracens, Leicester and London Irish in a tough opening period of the Premiership season.

"No team will expect to push us over like they would have done last season.

"But if we want to be the best we have to beat the best, and if that means when they have their strongest teams out full of international players then so be it.

"Yes, it's the old cliche that we'll be taking it one game at a time, but in that first five-game period we'll use a lot of the squad.

"The 23 we pick for Sunday will not necessarily be the 23 we think is strongest, more the 23 we think is most capable of getting a win against Bath.

"It's a tough start but for us it's an exciting start because it's a great test of our squad and where we want to go.

"As with the last two years, it's not about 23 players, it's about 32, 33 players."

The last time Bath were in town the two sides sat bottom and second-bottom in the Premiership, but after charging up the league to finish fourth, Steve Meehan's side are among the pre-season favourites this campaign.

Key said: "Everyone was surprised to see where Bath were midseason but they showed their capabilities. When they're at full strength they're an awesome side and we will never underestimate them. But we are confident we can produce a style of rugby that will compete against them."