As Swansea City's season opener at Blackburn Rovers in August 2021 unfolded, the dramatic change in style was scarcely believable.
The Swans had lost their manager Steve Cooper little more than a fortnight before the new campaign, with current head coach Russell Martin being drafted in just six days before the trip to Ewood Park.
From the word go, a major transformation was in operation, although the rushed nature of pre-season, the late managerial change, uncertainty in the transfer market and Covid-19 cases all ensured an already difficult task was going to be brutally tough for players and coaches alike.
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Fast forward to the 2022/23 campaign, and head coach Martin won't even have reached one year in charge of the Swans by the time their season opener at Rotherham United comes to an end at approximately 4:50pm on Saturday, July 30.
And yet, thanks to a significant transitional season, one that has seen players come and go throughout, there is far more hope for the Jack Army this time around.
"It's been really nice to have a bit of time with the players," admitted Martin during Swansea's pre-season schedule - a luxury he wasn't afforded last summer. "I think, physically, the players are in a really good place. They've put a lot of hard work in.
"Now it's about being fresher for the games rather than really working them hard so we can get as much out of the game as we possibly can. Every day, every week, every game that goes by, we just have that bit more clarity on what we need to prioritise to be ready for the new season."
Fitness was a huge concern for the Swans last season. In the early stages of his debut campaign in south Wales, Martin regularly stated that his players were not adequately conditioned to meet the demands required to fulfil his methods. But, over time, the understanding of his systems grew while results marginally improved.
Swansea won 30.4% of their first 23 Championship matches last season, collecting a total of 28 points. In the second-half of the league campaign, they won 39.1% of their Championship fixtures and picked up 33 points. Things picked up as time wore on, but it took time, and it's that time that has now given Martin's men a far better chance of hitting the ground running this term having won just one of their opening eight league matches a year ago.
Crucially, they have found several of the specialists Martin so desperately craved. Players such as Matt Grimes, Flynn Downes and Joel Piroe were perfectly suited to his style, although the 2021/22 campaign saw so much trial and error, with square pegs so often being forced into round holes, so to speak, out of necessity.
Harry Darling, Nathan Wood, Matty Sorinola and Joe Allen were all prime targets for the Swans well before the transfer window even opened, and the quartet of players brought in early on will undoubtedly play significant roles this season.
There was of course the disappointing but expected departure of Flynn Downes who secured a dream move to his boyhood club West Ham United in a switch that enabled free agent Allen to return home following his release from Stoke City. Downes was a perfect example of why Martin is a perfect fit for the Swans in their current situation.
The recruitment team did their due diligence, gave the player the platform to flourish and then sold him on for the hefty sum of £9m in a deal that could be worth up to £14m with add-ons. Of course, the hope is that players can remain at Swansea long enough to help the club return to the Premier League, but, in the meantime, the club's early dealings in the transfer market represents smart and savvy business.
"I've been really pleased with the business," Martin told WalesOnline after the pre-season clash with Plymouth Argyle. "Getting Flynn done early, if that had dragged on, it becomes difficult.
"Joe showed a lot of patience. He's given everyone a real lift. Matty, you saw in glimpses [in pre-season] some really good stuff, you've seen what he brings and Harry the same. They're both getting up to speed with the Championship, it's the first time they've been at this level.
"I was really impressed with Nathan Wood. I really like his profile. I think he's getting better and better.
"I think that's all you can ask the guys that come in the building, that they keep improving, getting used to what we're doing because it is very different, albeit two of them have experienced it before, but not at this level and this intensity. But on the whole I'm really pleased."
Of course, further squad alterations will take place before the 11pm transfer deadline on Thursday, September 1. Some currently in the squad will be sent out on loan to develop elsewhere while others will be moved on permanently. It's blindingly obvious that the squad is thin in some areas, even after the business conducted so far.
The changes will further help Martin to streamline his squad in a bid to ensure they are collectively even more closely aligned to his ideals. Flexibility is also going to be a key feature this term.
Swansea used a number of different formations during pre-season while most players operated in multiple roles during various stages to give the team a greater chance of adapting to tricky situations in the Championship.
"We've tweaked formations a few times," revealed Martin. "We need to look at that during the season, I spoke to you about that at the end of last season. We just want to be a bit more flexible.
"We've got a lot of players. The point is, it's up to us to make sure that players can play in a few positions. If they can only play in one, we need to try and give them something else so we can tweak in-game, so I think we're slowly building up."
This is all work that the coaching staff would have loved to have put into place when they arrived at the club, although, given the Swans' shambolic handling of Cooper's situation, Martin wasn't given the chance to do so. But this time around, things are different. Very different, in fact.
The tactical work has been done. The graft has been put in. The right people are in place, both on and off the field. So is this the season where Russell Martin really proves what he is all about as a manager and things fall into place?
Time will tell, but after just shy of a year in the role, the drastic turnaround has been nothing short of colossal.
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