And now the hard work begins.
Much of the focus this summer will be on who Martin O’Neill wants to sign for Nottingham Forest.
Fans will lap up transfer speculation and gossip about who the Reds want to sign in the coming weeks and months. We all will.
But, while it is obviously important for Forest to strengthen, to add more quality to their squad, that is far from their only priority.
In fact, it would be wise for them to do something else first - and it could prove to be far, far harder; a much more difficult task.
They must move players out of the door. I was going to say dead wood. But not all of them are. They are just players who find themselves surplus to requirement.
In some areas of the pitch, Forest just have too many players of similar quality; too many players of the same ilk.
And there is no room for them, physically or financially, in the squad. Even with the loan signings departing, Forest could end up with a squad of well over 30 players.
Liam Bridcutt has not been in the first team picture for some time and will surely want to leave, in search of first team football? He can't be happy training all week, only to take a seat in the stands or, worse, on his sofa on a Saturday afternoon.
On a similar basis, striker Apostolos Vellios must know that his time is up at Forest, when he returns from his loan spell.
In midfield, beyond Bridcutt, there are one or two others who find themselves on the fringes of things, who Forest might want to move on, in order to make room for new additions. Claudio Yacob and Adlene Guedioura have both seen their opportunities limited, for example.
Then there are younger men like Zach Clough, Jason Cummings and Gboly Ariyibi.
Not all of them will move on - but some of them have to.
Because Jamie Ward and Stephen Henderson are the only players out of contract this summer.
And numbers need reducing. So somebody has to go.
In my day, when you were not in the first team picture, you would have been desperate to get away; to secure a fresh start.
Not just because you wanted to play regularly, but also because you wanted to prove people wrong.
But times have changed.
And now, I am sad to say, it feels as though there are some players - at Forest and elsewhere - who might look at their situation and think ‘well, I’ve got a year or two left on a very nice contract, I might just stay where I am for now, thanks very much’.
Some players - not all - don’t always care that they don’t play very often, as long as the money is rolling in.
And there is a vicious circle in football developing on this front and it is agents who are right at the centre of it.
This is not a criticism, but it is a fact. By doing their jobs and doing them well, they know that they have clubs over a barrel at this time of year.
Every club will be in the market for good players this summer.
And it is the club that offers the most lucrative deal who will normally win the race for their targets.
Often an agent will say ‘if you really want him, you will need to put a three or four year contract on the table’.
Which leaves clubs with a decision to make. Give a player a longer contract than you might like - or see him move to another club who is willing to do so.
Nottingham Forest defender Michael Hefele provides update on his recovery from injury
This is one of the reasons why the Forest squad is so big now, because of players being given longer deals.
One thing that might work in their favour this summer, is the very obvious ambition of the owner.
Money will still matter to potential signings, of course. But being able to point to the plans for the new stadium and at the long-term blueprint to give the club Premier League facilities, to go with their Premier League ambitions, will not do any harm.
People will recognise that ambition; they will see that Forest very obviously mean business.
But, before they get down to the task of bringing players in, they need to move a few out.
Nottingham Forest hope key man Joe Lolley will remain injury free next season
It might mean paying off a few of them; it might mean some difficult negotiations, to get a few players out of the door.
But it is something they need to do, as a matter of urgency, if they want to turn a decent squad, into one capable of more.
