Tottenham may be top of the Premier League after 10 games but Ange Postecoglou is convinced they are only just getting started.
According to the Australian, this is the embryonic stage of a long-term project and unbeaten Spurs are still some way from being the finished article.
Ultimately, Postecoglou needs more time to bed in his philosophy and more transfer windows to fine-tune his squad but Friday's 2-1 win at Crystal Palace, which briefly sent Spurs five points clear at the summit, offered a clue as to how the head coach can immediately improve his side in the short-term.
Rodrigo Bentancur's first appearance since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in February was a welcome boost and, in time, the Uruguayan's energy, press-resistance and range of passing should make him perfect for Spurs' midfield, possibly as an upgrade to the promising but raw Pape Sarr.
Brennan was great. He's had to be patient as he's had a couple of setbacks. He's worked hard.
Spurs plan to reintegrate Bentancur slowly, however, and there is a view at the club he may not be back to his very best until the start of next season.
More immediately, though, Brennan Johnson now offers Postecoglou another option in the front line, starting against Chelsea next week.
Johnson came off the bench and helped to decide the game at Selhurst Park, setting up Heung-min Son to make it 2-0 after a brilliant exchange with James Maddison.
The 22-year-old pulled up on his Spurs debut, the 2-2 draw at Arsenal in September, and missed the wins over Liverpool and Luton with a hamstring problem.
"Brennan was great. He's had to be patient as he's had a couple of setbacks obviously so we haven't really seen him in any consistent game time or training time but the last couple of weeks he's worked hard at training," Postecoglou said on Friday.
Postecoglou acknowledged before the Palace game that his side's attack still needs work, saying Spurs were some way from being as "natural or fluent" as he wanted in the final third.
That much was clear as they laboured to break down Palace in the first half before Joel Ward's own goal, the centre-half turning Maddison's cross into his own net, gave them a breakthrough after 53 minutes.
It was not until Johnson's introduction for Richarlison that Spurs clicked into a higher gear, killing the game with their magnificent second goal.
Richarlison was bright on the left of the front three, creating Spurs' two best openings of the first half for Maddison, but the Brazilian remains short of confidence in front of goal and is a little clunky as a winger.
Johnson is more of a natural fit for wide areas than Richarlison, and should offer Postecoglou the pace, directness and one-on-one threat that his side were missing against Palace in the first half — which is particularly important now that Son is playing through the middle.
As it stands, the deadline-day signing from Nottingham Forest is in line to make his second start against Chelsea and, ominously for the Blues and Spurs' other rivals, his addition to the XI has the potential to make Postecoglou's side even better.
