Over recent years, there has been a fairly common criticism aimed at Everton. There's a belief they have been too nice.
Off the pitch that's, of course, a good thing and the work the club does in the community has rightly been heralded as a shining example for others across the Premier League to follow.
But during matches there has often been a feeling that the Blues have been lacking that bite, that extra cutting edge that would be able to take them to the next level.
It might be early days in the current season, but perhaps there are already signs that the tide is shifting in that sense.
Carlo Ancelotti already managed to bring a certain change of attitude with him when walking through the door at Goodison Park, with evidence most prevalent against Watford at the beginning of November.
One of the biggest criticisms labelled towards Marco Silva during his time in charge of Everton was his side's inability to fight back from a losing position.
That does come down to attitude. The Blues on multiple occasions looked beaten before the final whistle had sounded with the Portuguese boss in charge and that needed to change.
Ancelotti didn't take long to break that record, inspiring his side back from 2-0 down at Vicarage Road to take all three points back to Merseyside, even when playing a portion of the match with 10 men.
That's the attitude inspired just from the manager's arrival, but has been taken to the next level with the addition of some new signings in the transfer window.
Everton won fairly comfortably in the end on Saturday afternoon, beating West Bromwich Albion 5-2, but there were moments in the first half that were shaky to say the least.
The Blues fell behind, could have been 2-0 down if Jake Livermore's shot off the post had found the net, and were on the back foot thanks to the performance from the visitors.
However, they went into the half time break 2-1 up. They pulled themselves together, fought for each other and, in the end, produced the results.
One moment in particular takes centre-stage for this, the sending off of Kieran Gibbs.
It was a big point in the match, of course, and one that had a huge effect on just how much Everton dominated the second half in particular.
A little shove from James Rodriguez was all it took to produce a silly reaction from the West Brom defender and earn him a rightful red card.
A clip has later surfaced on social media of the left-back leaving the pitch remarking that he would do it again, which produced an irate response from Seamus Coleman.
He can be heard saying: "You'll do it again? Who are you talking to, you'll do it again? Hard man, f****** hard man?"
Supporters have responded in their hundreds to share their thoughts on the incident and many have praised the Blues captain for standing up for his teammate.
It might not seem like all that much to those from the outside looking in, but this is the kind of attitude that has been a little absent from Everton sides of recent years on some occasions.
Of course the best sides in the country more often than not play the best football, but they also have a sense of bite about them.
If you foul one of their players, you better believe you'll get a reaction from the rest. If they fall behind in a game, they're never considered down and out until the final whistle has blown.
David Moyes managed to instil a similar kind of attitude in his Everton side at times over his tenure at Goodison, which certainly helped them achieve some big underdog victories over those years.
While those qualities haven't been prevalent from the Blues in recent years, perhaps this shows things are starting to shift ever so slightly.
Everton rallied from behind to win in comfortable fashion. Even if it's not the finest 90 minutes they will play all season, the three points are in the bag.
They have that raw attitude to thank for it.
Evertonians will want to see a little bit more of that over the coming season to help try and bring the success everyone desperately desires.
