So far, so good but now for hard part

SO THAT’S the easy part out of the way, what’s next? Reaction to recent results has been abnormally upbeat thanks to the holy grail vanishing act of last season.

Those hugely disappointing draws carved a wound in the collective psyche which even the sight of Phil Brown turning pale (a feat in itself) cannot heal.

Those who walk around with their guard permanently raised were always mindful of the challenges to come.