Now eight matches into his reign as Nottingham Forest boss, Steve Cooper is realising that life at the City Ground is not as rosy as he may have thought.
On the back of a four-match winning streak, Forest have collected just two points from three games, both of which have been earned through late equalisers.
Their most recent win against Bristol City also came courtesy of two last-gasp strikes, and a trend is developing where they are struggling to gain an upper hand during the opening three quarters.
While Cooper will be delighted with the character of his squad, he is still waiting for something to click with the rest of their game.
Still, a return of 15 points from eight matches is promotion-level form, and there will be no complaints if that ratio can be replicated over the coming months.
There have been times this season when a succession of draws have undermined the fine work that Frankie McAvoy is doing at Deepdale.
However, he is now starting to reap the benefits, his Preston team backing up a home victory against Luton Town with one of the performances of the season at Bournemouth.
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North End had to ride their luck to overcome the runaway Cherries, but they were fully deserving of their maximum points at the Vitality Stadium.
Now sitting just four points adrift of fifth position, another match-winning performance in the East Midlands will provide Preston with the momentum required to emerge as dark horses for the playoffs in the long term.
That said, it should not go unnoticed that Wednesday’s triumph against Bournemouth represented their first away league win of the season
