Tbf if they had prem TV money you’d have to imagine given their fan base they’d be able to give it as a good a shot as the likes of Bournemouth/ Brighton / Brentford etc.
You can't honestly defend a man in charge of the supposed strongest team on the league,
A man who genuinely claimed his team would win the Premier league within 5 years if they joined,
Being knocked out by a random team from Kazakhstan?