So much of this season has felt distinctly different to the usual. The hiring of an undoubtedly sensible choice of coach was the best possible precursor to a summer that was always going to bring chaos to the club, stoking fear in the fanbase of yet another wasted second-tier campaign. After the whirlwind of player after player jumping ship for greener pastures, and the miraculous avoidance of disaster with the one who did his best to join them, those fears were slowly but surely calmed by an influx of sensible players to play under said sensible coach.

The Christmas wobble, however, was not avoided (though the incredibly routine demolition of Ipswich must be taken into account), and once again raised the tension among supporters who have, all too often, seen a promising season derailed by a lackluster January window, when just a few decent additions would have sufficed. Memories of Simon Grayson’s first Championship season must have crept into even the most optimistic of minds as the month rumbled on, with only the departures of Djed Spence and Luke Ayling to point to as any evidence of real activity. Had the on-field results not been so magnificent, there’s no doubt that complaints would have surfaced more fervently as the clock ticked towards deadline day. Those that did make it into the open, however, were fairly clear in their demands: ‘sign a right-back’. Maybe not so different after all…

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