Aberdeen fans will not wish to cast their minds back to mid-October, but it is becoming increasingly of relevance.
It was then, after a tenth straight game without a win, that the away section at Dens Park rang to chants suggesting the removal of Stephen Glass, its patrons fearing a lengthy relegation scrap if things did not change. Their side sat ninth.
Today, despite the false dawn which followed the darkness of that winless run and the collection of four wins in December, Aberdeen find themselves back in that position.
The points cushion which protects them from the drop zone may have been significantly padded in the meantime, but the net impact of four months of further building is zero in terms of league placings.
The question which those inside and outside Pittodrie are therefore left asking is whether there has been sufficient progress in other respects to warrant a more indulgent response now than then.
How much slack one is prepared to cut depends on the weight one gives to the many variables in a crazy game such as last night’s.
Do Aberdeen gain credit for the rousing, if unsuccessful, comeback after the interval; or is it outweighed by the insipid manner in which they virtually played themselves out of the match before it?
In other circumstances, perhaps the resilience would count in the team’s favour. Four days after another game in which they only turned on the engine after limply conceding a 2-0 lead, perhaps not.
There are many ways to lose a game, and while some are less pitiful than others, all look the same on paper. Glass’ urgent problem is that his side has tried pretty much all of them, and now sits no nearer where it needs to be than it was at its nadir last autumn.