Sergej Jakirovic says Friday's FA Cup tie against Chelsea will be an important yardstick for those in his Hull City squad with aspirations of playing in the Premier League.
The Championship outfit host Liam Rosenior's men in a televised fourth-round tie.
With a seven-point cushion in the play-off places and five points adrift of the top two, the ambitious Tigers are well-placed to push for a spot in next season's top-flight. And even if they miss out, some in the squad will be hoping to get there individually in the coming seasons.
So Friday should give them a good indication of the things they need to get better at.
"We can compare where we are in this moment," said coach Jakirovic, who has managed in the Champions League with Dinamo Zagreb.
"Some of my players have targets or goals to play in the Premier League. You can compare immediately where we are.
"They will learn what they need to get better at and as well as what they are good at.
"You can always learn something when you play against these teams.
NATIONAL SERVICE: Northern Ireland defender Paddy McNair (Image: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)placeholder image
NATIONAL SERVICE: Northern Ireland defender Paddy McNair (Image: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)
"Because Chelsea are very huge in terms of world football. Not just England."
For new signing Paddy McNair, the coming weeks are good opportunity to tune up ahead of Northern Ireland's World Cup play-off in Italy on March 26. Win that and they will travel to the winners of Wales v Bosnia and Herzegovina for a game which will decide if they go to their first World Cup since 1986.
"It's in six or seven weeks, so I'm not thinking too much about it at the minute," insisted the former Middlesbrough centre-back. "But of course I want to be as fit as I can for Hull and I want to be as fit as a clam for Northern Ireland."