In all honesty, as daft as it sounds, that Newcastle defeat doesn't particularly concern me. We were absolutely brilliant for about an hour. What let us down that day was Pickford and the linesman. You can't legislate for stuff like that.
The more worrying thing was how things went south after the derby defeat - it was over two months before we got our act together. That's the bit I'm concerned about.
There's plenty of stuff about him that makes me optimistic - I also think the tempo we play at when we are doing well is more likely to get the crowd onside than it ever was under Martinez and Koeman.
We are three points off our total for 17/18 now, with 5 games to go. We also finished last season with a goal difference of -14, whereas we are currently +4.
We appear to have improved this season, even if our position in the league table might not reflect that by the end of the season. Think he's definitely worth a 2nd season, but the form between December and February is something to be aware of and something he will have to ensure isn't repeated.