We have now reached the point of the Premiership season where every side has played every other. Aberdeen are almost every inch the exemplar team for playing to expectations.
The Dons have received sound hammerings from each of the two teams they came far behind last season, and have battled to draws with the two who finished either side of them in the final 2018-19 table.
With the lone exception of the St Mirren outlier, they have now recorded five wins and a draw against those who were significantly beneath them.
They have done all this whilst rarely producing the type of football to write home about.
But while the Reds’ struggles to pass the eye test have led to a degree of disgruntlement, the supporters would admit that, if they could have either results or performance but not both, the team has pointed close enough in the right direction to keep its head well above the water line.
It sets an informative baseline that Derek McInnes’ side, without yet having found its real identity, short in some areas and hit hard by injuries, have nonetheless managed to pick up virtually all the points they were supposed to.
It is certainly to be hoped that Aberdeen can play much closer to their ceiling as the season goes on, but it is reassuring to know that their floor is comfortably high.
For context, the Dons are ten points clear of Hearts and nine ahead of Hibs.
In the current climate, what passes for bad in Aberdeen is clearly much better than in Edinburgh.
The Reds now move into the reverse fixtures within touching distance of their habitual residence in top three, and as and when they get there they must not look back. In sport, if you always do enough and even do more, you will get to where you need to be.