Had the Premier League season began when Marco Silva took charge of Hull City in early January, his side would be on course for the Champions League.
Only Spurs, Chelsea and Everton have taken more points than Hull’s return of 17 from 11 matches in that three-month period.
It serves to highlight just how big a job Silva inherited that only now, after Wednesday night’s 4-2 win over Middlesbrough, have they emerged from the bottom three.
That was Silva’s 40th consecutive game without defeat at home, a run taking in four clubs.