Sheffield United are moving in the right direction again.
It shows how far they have come that the end of their four-game winning run in midweek, when a Djibril Soumare own goal saw them draw 1-1 with Norwich, was met with genuine disappointment.
What Ruben Selles would have given for so much as a point in his disastrous, brief tenure at Bramall Lane.
Chris Wilder is back where he belongs steering the Blades. And in such an open league you feel anything could be possible.
An impressive turnaround after a disastrous start
It wasn't quite so straightforward to start with. The Sheffield United hierarchy probably hoped that when they reappointed Wilder in September that the first few weeks of the season could just have been buried and forgotten.
But his return heralded defeat at home to Charlton, and they went on to win one and lose three of his first four, and also lost six of his first nine.
But a Steel City victory sparked an upswing. Their 3-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday in late November marking the first of four straight wins - with 13 goals scored and just two conceded in that time.
Sheffield United sit eighth in the form table since Wilder took over, with 23 points accrued from his 15 games in charge.
You can see below how their fortunes have improved since his appointment.
You can also see the improvements the squad have made in comparison with the five games Selles had in charge.
And how much closer they are getting to what you would expect from a Wilder Sheffield United side in the Championship, while actually scoring more goals and creating more chances on average.
'Top six still the expectation for Sheff Utd'
Sky Sports' David Prutton:
"It has been an improvement under Chris Wilder but it was an improvement that was needed, after the mountain they gave themselves to climb.
"The first finish line, which was a very short one, was to get them out of trouble. It took a little bit longer than expected but it feels like they have done that.
"I'm not saying for a second now that they have to go on a run that gets them towards the top two. But this was a team that was about 15 minutes away from the Premier League last season.
"There are plenty of games left, and they have to make a beeline towards that top six at the very least."
Wilder: Midweek disappointment shows how far we've come
Chris Wilder believes that the disappointment of the result against Norwich in midweek shows how far they have come.
"The performance obviously wasn't as flowing as it could have been against Norwich," the Blades boss said in his pre-match press conference. "It was a really poor goal to concede, and we missed opportunities to punish them.
"But we're in good nick. The group is really together. I was delighted with the ambition of the team. We're always greedy for results, but the players shouldn't beat themselves up too much because of the run we've been on."
Up next is West Brom on Friday night, live on Sky Sports Football. A side Sheffield United are currently below in the table, but will be low on confidence after back-to-back defeats.
"We're fighting our way through just like them and they're a big club in the division," Wilder added. "They'll be looking to fight themselves back into contention.
"This season there's just the craziness of the division, and we've shown what you can do if you go on a run. We want to keep that going."