Steven Berghuis says plenty has already changed at Ajax in the early weeks under Míchel Sánchez. Compared with his predecessors John Heitinga, Fred Grim and Óscar García, there is at least a far clearer plan for every game, he told Ajax's club channels.
That is a painful conclusion in itself. Ajax sacked their head coach twice last season, but each replacement failed to spark any real improvement. Berghuis even describes it as a "heads or tails situation".
"Last year I sometimes had the feeling before the match that it was heads or tails. You did not really know what to expect," said Berghuis, who needed some calm and clarity after all the upheaval.
Now, under Míchel, he believes Ajax finally have that. "So that you are no longer dependent on that heads-or-tails situation, but know beforehand: if we do this, Ajax will win. Then we will live up to expectations."
Even though technical director Jordi Cruyff has repeatedly made it clear that he wants to go all out for the title, Berghuis does not see that as essential.
"Whether you win a trophy or not... That you are competitive and have the feeling that you are on top of your opponents, regardless of the result. That the Ajax crowd are proud of the team and that we are not dependent on the form of the day," Berghuis says of what he wants to achieve.
For now, it remains unclear whether Berghuis will again take on a leading role. He scored once and set up two more against Telstar last weekend, but Ajax brought in Viktor Tsygankov late in the transfer window as serious competition for his place.