Alex Revell is happy to see plans starting to come together but admits that there is still some way to go before everything clicks perfectly.
Stevenage were held to a 0-0 draw away to Burton Albion despite having 11 shots with six on target, the hosts not getting any on Murphy Cooper's goal.
That was the reason for the boss's frustrations but he can look beyond that to see the progression from his troops.
"Everyone sees it," said Revell, "no shots on target. They had a good opportunity but it came from our mistake of giving the ball away.
"If you're going to do that, teams can potentially punish you, but in terms of opportunities we created, we’re again leaving thinking we should be taking them.
"The lads know it and you don't hide away from those situations, you have to be honest.
"Now we've just got to make sure we keep putting them in those situations and keep working on it.
"You then hope they start to turn the other way."
Part of that comes from the passing of time. Three league games in, and a couple of cup matches too, all means clubs are slowly starting to reveal their hands and patterns of play, allowing Boro and others to design and develop counteractions.
And that is helping to reinforce the messages the Stevenage management want to get into their structure.
Revell said: "It's very difficult in pre-season, you don't know how teams are going to play but now you're starting to get a bit of that.
"You’re starting to see what teams are trying to do and that now allows us to tweak and to change.
"That might be personnel or it might be just certain situations and positions.
"What I will say is that we have given them a fair bit of information, but over time, they’re now really starting to listen.
"I don't mean that disrespectfully but in order to perform at these levels, you have to be able to adapt and you have to be able to take on [information and plans].
"They're doing it and we're reaping the rewards in terms of winning it back. It’s then about what we do with it.
"[Burton] was positive in terms of performance, positive in terms of chances created but we’ve still got work to do."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here