I'm thankful for the respite too, but not exactly enjoying it as I just don't like the guy.
And yes he was always going to be scrutinised more because we have seen so much of him. He was always going to have to work hard to get the majority of fans really behind him, whilst only having to slip up a little bit to get a good portion of the fans thinking of all his weak points last time around. I personally don't blame the fans for that, I think it is fair to have a strong opinion on a manager you've seen 12 seasons of, and understandable to not have much patience for him when it goes wrong.