Even when things going were going very well for Antony at Manchester United, Erik ten Hag was demanding more from him. Goals in his first three Premier League appearances was an impressive introduction, but his manager knew there was more to come.
Antony hasn't found the back of the net or had an assist since the third of those goals, in the win at Everton on October 9. He's played 530 minutes since that well-taken strike at Goodison Park, although his off-the-ball run in the lead-up to Antony Martial's goal against Nottingham Forest was vital.
But in a team that is beginning to look very impressive under Ten Hag, Antony is still waiting to really catch fire. Marcus Rashford has been excellent in attack and Martial, when fit, has contributed.
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The central midfield of Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes has looked superb and Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane have formed an excellent defensive partnership. In a way, this is all to Antony's benefit.
"We have to expect more from him," Ten Hag said after he'd scored his third Premier League goal at Goodison Park.
"He needs challenges, that's why he came to the Premier League. He gets it here, he wants to play with the best players, the highest stress factors against the best players and from there on he will step up.
"That's what you see: first weeks he scored goals, he did good stuff, but also I saw a lot of room for improvement in his game.
"What I was happy (about) with the goal he made now was getting in behind; he has to do that more, he has to use his space, he has a good dribble, but he needs more variation.
"In the first game he was not always that good defending-wise but he was really good, really disciplined, he had good positioning, good anticipation, so he had quite an impact on this team's performance.
"He is a young player we have to develop but he has to develop himself."
That process is still ongoing and was always going to be this season. The 22-year-old has played just two full seasons in Europe and moving from the Eredivisie to the Premier League was always going to be a substantial step up. He wasn't going to find it as easy to influence games.
But Ten Hag knew what he getting with the winger, which is why he pushed so hard for his signature and convinced United to go significantly over budget by paying £85.5million for him. He won't be worried by his recent drop-off in performance levels.
Antony was also enthused by the idea of reuniting with Ten Hag and a manager he felt developed his game well in the Netherlands. The 52-year-old has had a positive impact on several United players already and the Brazilian will feel he will improve further as he adapts to the demands of the Premier League and life at Old Trafford.
There's no doubt he has struggled to influence games recently, however. His three goals, against Arsenal, Manchester City and Everton, were all excellent finishes, but he was peripheral at times in those matches, hence Ten Hag's demands for more on Merseyside.
In his seven appearances since that Everton game, Antony has had 15 shots but they've carried an xG of just 1.3, which shows they've been low-quality chances. His xA is just 0.6 for those matches, which suggests he hasn't been laying on high-quality opportunities for his teammates.
Antony will get plenty of patience, though. The form of the collective unit is taking the pressure off individuals and aside from a bit of social media punditry there has been little discussion around his performances, certainly compared to the scrutiny on Jadon Sancho in an underperforming team last season.
Sancho is out of the selection picture at the moment as he tries to get his game and his fitness back on track, so Antony will continue to operate in that right-wing slot, a position he was signed specifically to fill.
There might be some competition for that spot coming next season. Amad, himself a £37million signing, is finally showing glimpses of his potential at Sunderland and he has six goals in his last 10 starts for the Championship club. It would be a surprise if he wasn't part of Ten Hag's attacking options next season.
But by then Ten Hag will hope Antony has adapted to the Premier League and followed his demands to offer more. At the moment he's part of a winning team and that is giving him the freedom to go under the radar.
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