Let’s start with the glaringly obvious, it’s been disappointing. We dreamed of building on last season’s late push for Europe and instead we are now doomed to spend at least the vast majority of the season looking over our shoulders at the bottom three. The past week perfectly summarised Leeds in 2021/22, a good performance followed by a bad performance, and not enough wins.

It was a victory for fortitude, for humility, and for Marcelo Bielsa. He overcame the London Curse, VAR and the worst injury crisis I’ve known in thirty years of watching English football to beat high flying West Ham on a remarkable Sunday afternoon.

What a game, what a win, and what a start to the year! After Bielsa stayed out with the players following their 7-0 drubbing at Manchester City, and the fans cheered them like heroes after the 4-1 defeat at home to Arsenal, the players repaid these acts of love in the only way they could, by sweating blood to beat Burnley.

Saturday evening was a tough watch. Arsenal cut through Leeds with more ease and frequency than Manchester City did in their 7-0 victory four days earlier, and if it wasn’t for Meslier – our phenomenon between the sticks – it would have been 7-0 by half-time.