Swansea City will be in the top half of the Championship table at Christmas despite a pair of defeats which have dampened festive spirits.
Still, had they been offered 12th place after 22 games before a ball was kicked in 2024-25, Swansea would have been fairly pleased.
Last season, after all, was an arduous one, while the summer transfer window saw Swansea looking for rough diamonds rather than polished gems.
The playing squad remains a work in progress, with more business required when the market reopens next month.
Yet progress has been made this season, with Swansea looking a more solid Championship outfit than they did at any point during the traumatic 2023-24 campaign.
Luke Williams’ team have their issues, but they have been consistently competitive.
As a result, Saturday’s abject display at Hull City came as a shock to the system.
Swansea had been left licking wounds after the previous weekend’s demoralising defeat to Sunderland, when they led early on 2-0 but came away with nothing after collapsing in the second half.
Head coach Williams responded by questioning his players’ mentality, not holding back as he claimed their performance “stank of doubt”.
Williams’ hope, presumably, was that his players would produce a response of their own at Hull, who were bottom of the table and had not won in 13 games before Swansea’s visit to Humberside.
Instead, Swansea delivered their worst performance of the season.
There was a lack of energy, a lack of urgency and a lack of quality, with even Swansea’s most consistent performers slipping well short of their usual standards.
The result was a richly deserved victory for the Tigers – and another post-match interview in which Williams was simmering.
And so to successive home games, against a much-improved Queens Park Rangers on 26 December and Luton Town three days later.
Both fixtures may be considered winnable, but Swansea can expect nothing from either if they perform as they did at Hull.