Tony Bloom says Albion have "over-achieved" to finish in the top six of the Championship in the last two seasons.
But that does not mean he will be happy with slipping into mid-table this time around.
Albion made the play-offs under Gus Poyet and Oscar Garcia.
They are currently 20th under Sami Hyypia after 17 games, a point above the relegation zone, six adrift of mid-table and 11 behind the play-off places.
Bloom told The Argus: "What I said at the start of the season still holds. We want to be closer, we're a long way off now, so we have to dig in, work hard and take each game as it comes.
"We've got a mid-table budget, we've over-achieved the last two seasons, if we did finish mid-table would I be happy? Not particularly but it does happen in football.
"I think the players have done great in the last two years but we want to over-achieve and we're not going to accept that finishing mid-table is good, we are always pushing to punch above our weight.
"Some fans now expect the top six and good luck to them. It's their right to criticise if they are not happy with what's on the pitch but we can't let that affect us.
"We will do what ever we can in each game to win and, over the season, to get to where we want to be. We know our overall goal, whether it is this season, next season or the season after, is to get to the Premier League.
"And there are no guarantees. It may take a long time. But we're trying to do it every season and, within our financial budget, we'll do everything we can to get there."
Original article
But that does not mean he will be happy with slipping into mid-table this time around.
Albion made the play-offs under Gus Poyet and Oscar Garcia.
They are currently 20th under Sami Hyypia after 17 games, a point above the relegation zone, six adrift of mid-table and 11 behind the play-off places.
Bloom told The Argus: "What I said at the start of the season still holds. We want to be closer, we're a long way off now, so we have to dig in, work hard and take each game as it comes.
"We've got a mid-table budget, we've over-achieved the last two seasons, if we did finish mid-table would I be happy? Not particularly but it does happen in football.
"I think the players have done great in the last two years but we want to over-achieve and we're not going to accept that finishing mid-table is good, we are always pushing to punch above our weight.
"Some fans now expect the top six and good luck to them. It's their right to criticise if they are not happy with what's on the pitch but we can't let that affect us.
"We will do what ever we can in each game to win and, over the season, to get to where we want to be. We know our overall goal, whether it is this season, next season or the season after, is to get to the Premier League.
"And there are no guarantees. It may take a long time. But we're trying to do it every season and, within our financial budget, we'll do everything we can to get there."
Original article