Roy Hodgson is content with the overall outcome of his first 12 months in charge at West Brom as he prepares for Sunday's Black Country derby with Wolves at Molineux.
Hodgson replaced Roberto Di Matteo a year ago with the Baggies facing the prospect of instant relegation from the Barclays Premier League following promotion.
But he kept them up via a 20-point return from the final 12 games of the campaign and this season Albion have steered clear of the bottom three despite a poor home record.
Hodgson said: "It's been a good year. At the moment, I'm not beaming with joy every day.
"We had a bad start in January and February but, if you take the year as whole, it's been decent.
"We finished very well last season. This season we've had some good periods.
"We broke a few hoodoos for the club. We won at Stoke for the first time in years, the victories over Aston Villa were in the same category. We've put those hoodoos to bed."
Hodgson insists it should not be a relief to play away from the Hawthorns despite Albion collecting only eight points in front of their own fans compared to 18 from away matches this season.
He said: "This is a massive game, it's always a big game. It might not be a derby that the whole of England view as of tremendous importance, but it is important in the West Midlands.
"To us it's as important as Arsenal versus Tottenham or Manchester United versus Manchester City.
"But it shouldn't be a relief to be playing at Molineux. It will be very dangerous if we start to think we're so good away from home that we don't need the Hawthorns.
"That would be a very foolish thing to get sucked into. If we're going to do well, then we need to win our home games."
Hodgson admits the point Albion gained from a 1-1 home draw against Wolves shortly after he took charge was crucial in the context of staying up.
He said: "When I came to the club, it was on the back of a lot of defeats and sinking close to the relegation zone.
"Had we lost that game, it might even have taken us into the relegation zone.
"Getting that draw with a last-minute equaliser from Carlos Vela might have been the most important derby result.
"But now is just another one of those important periods.
"We lost to Wolves at their place last season but we had pulled ourselves clear of trouble and secured our Premier League status."
Albion have received a double fitness boost with striker Shane Long (back and chest pains) and midfielder Graham Dorrans (hip) both fit to play.
Hodgson has to decide whether to give first starts to transfer dead-line day signings, left-back Liam Ridgewell and midfielder Keith Andrews.
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