I was late to the party this year. When my wife came back and announced that she’d booked a holiday in Spain it was too late to point put that it would take out the first week of the season. So instead of watching Wednesday get under way my blue and white activity was limited to complimenting a kid in a Wednesday shirt in the Lidl in Nerja (“you’ve made his day” said his gran) and then one day having a glass too many before going out for a scoff and feeling the need to have a word with the people a few doors up with a blades flag dangling over their garden wall (fair play - they took it in good part – the guy just smiled at me and simply said “behave”).

So as I sweltered, swam and sweated my information came via the internet and Steve banging in a couple of (excellent) articles to the Trucks site. Initial soundings weren’t great and the whole thing was topped off by us landing in Manchester just as the Brentford game was ending. At least I didn’t have to wait long for match action with the Millwall match on Tuesday. However as I called into the Walkley Cottage for a sneaky pre-match one it’s fair to say that an audible groan went round the bar at quarter to seven when the team was announced.

But what we got was a display of full-on commitment, with Bannan on fire, the young lads literally working themselves to a standstill and the likes of Fletcher and Matias putting a proper shift in. Yes, the last quarter was backs to the wall but they pulled together and got through it. So the overwhelming mantra by the time I got back to the Barracks for my first pint of Plum Porter for a few weeks was “In Jos we trust”. Meanwhile the man himself was coming in on social media saying that provided they all worked hard that was all he could ask.

So on to yesterday and Ipswich. More fundamental changes with Joao fit and the big lad pardoned for Brentford. Yesterday lacked the full-on blood and thunder of Tuesday and gave us a useful insight to how precarious our recovery is; when it got to 1-1 rather than a “don’t worry – it’ll come round” vibe there was a proper tension in the air (with a lot of noise about the lack of subs) until they went down to ten and Joao checked in with a second. From there Ipswich never really looked like pulling it back and we came in safe.

So, I’ve been back nearly a week and the vibe I think can be summarised as “jury still out”. On the positive side we have won a couple of those matches which we will need to win if we are to make the first base of being safe in the division, the signs are that the team are playing as a unit (albeit a unit whose constituent parts keep changing) and everywhere you look people are telling you it’s been a better start to the season than the one where we got to Wembley.

But on the other side of the scales is that feeling that things are still a bit built on sand. With the embargo lifted everyone is waiting to see whether that loan signing will materialise and all are agreed that if it does it needs to be someone who can help shore up a defence that when it comes under pressure is creaky enough to use up a whole tin of WD40. We also wait to see whether JL is making inspired team selections or instead has managed to get away with a couple.

And in the background remains that desperate scramble to get more cash in; the message from DC remains clear even after the  FFP malarkey – if you want things to get better you are going to have to carry on paying for it (including it has to be said for the SWFC 150 film where people are being charged £18.67 - geddit? – to sit and watch a film at the Showroom). But in that respect at least we are where we are (and in fairness I see D Taxis are still coming soon).

So, it certainly feels better than it did when I stepped off that plane last Sunday and from the perspective of needing to lower our aspirations for this season we’re doing okay so far. I don’t think any Wednesdayite would describe things as comfy but all we can do is to hang on in there, give them our usual 110% and see where we go.