The Erol Bulut era at Cardiff City is three games old.
Granted, this pre-season so far has consisted of two games against Cymru Premier opposition - Penybont and TNS - and one against League One Cambridge United, so the team are still very much finding their feet.
It has not been vintage stuff and there are many improvements which need to be made, which should hopefully come with time and with better rhythm and understanding of what the manager wants, but there have been some notable takeaways.
With a packed pre-season schedule, and new signings not having kicked a ball yet, there is ample time for players to stick their hands up. But who has taken their early chance under the new manager? Well, we pick out a few...
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Mark McGuinness
Arguably Cardiff's best player across the three games, scoring two headed goals and looking a cut above in defence, McGuinness appears primed for a big season for the Bluebirds.
He will be one of the first names on the team sheet this term, probably alongside new signing Dimitrios Goutas and that would be a formidable central defensive partnership.
For many people's money, he is probably Cardiff's current biggest asset - only a big bid would be able to prise him away from the Welsh capital this summer.
Bulut has placed a greater emphasis on headed goals and goals from set pieces, which means McGuinness will have a big role to play at both ends of the pitch - and he has shown in the three games so far that it is a role he is more than capable of fulfilling under the new boss.
Kieron Evans
Fans wondered just how much good a season-long loan in the National League with Torquay United would have done for Kieron Evans, but it's fair to say he has caught the eye since returning.
Bulut, to his credit, has afforded him an opportunity to show what he is capable of and Evans has grabbed his chance. He has shown the odd trick, a willingness to run at defenders and an ability to put in dangerous and accurate crosses. He does have more to learn, though, you feel.
“I’m satisfied with him and his performance. He’s a quick player, he’s skilful," Bulut said of the 20-year-old winger. "Sometimes he does try to keep the ball too much, so he has to think a little quicker when the ball gets to his feet. But he’s doing well, and I’m satisfied.”
With Yakou Meite having been signed, and other wingers high on the transfer agenda for Cardiff, it will be interesting to see how the club use him. A loan to a Football League club seems the obvious step, with the potential to recall in January should he impress.
Rubin Colwill
Finally, it seems a manager will implement a system in which Rubin Colwill can flourish.
It's been encouraging to see the Wales international playing as an out-and-out No.10, spreading the game when in possession and stretching the pitch when taking the ball on the half-turn and in transition.
This season is big for Colwill. He wants to stay injury-free and he looks to be in top shape this pre-season (touch wood). His spell with the Wales under-21s setup appears to have done him a lot of good, too.
He was the standout Bluebirds player in the Cambridge game, linking up well with Evans, and looks to be playing with confidence in a position that affords him great freedom which suits him down to the ground.
Make no mistake, Colwill wants to make his mark this season. He wants to start far more games and be a central part of things over the next 12 months. That clear potential must translate into meaningful results on the pitch and he looks primed to do that, should he stay injury free.
Eli King
A player many behind the scenes at Cardiff really like and you can see why. He is technically very sound, is vocal and organised on the pitch and displays a maturity which belies his 20 years.
He has been asked to play in the unfamiliar position of centre-back during Bulut's first three games at the helm and he has taken to it like a duck to water. Whether that's where he will play longer term is yet to be seen.
King is not only technically proficient, he is physically robust, too. His future likely lies in midfield, particularly given his passing range is a real asset of his, but that area of the pitch looks particularly packed this upcoming season.
His mixed loan spell at Crewe last year will have done him a world of good. A positive League One loan under his belt in the coming months and he could really show what he is about and kick on.
Callum Robinson
Robinson was sorely missed in the latter stages of last season and he has sent a timely reminder of his ability in the early throes of pre-season.
Fans are cautiously excited by the prospect of Robinson's potential strike partnership with Kion Etete, who showed some sings of promise last term despite not returning a huge haul of goals, and his goals will be vital this season if Cardiff are to push up the league.
His cool finish against TNS was further proof of his quality when it matters, while he was in the right place at the right time against Cambridge United on Friday, too, to sweep home City's only goal of the game.
Despite the arrival of Ike Ugbo, Yakou Meite or any further signing comes in to bolster that forward line, one suspects Robinson is a nailed-on starter this term and he is already proving why under Bulut.
Ollie Tanner
With two goals and an assist in the three games so far, no one has contributed more in an attacking sense for Cardiff than Ollie Tanner, which is something you feel he really needed.
Following a loan spell which certainly didn't go according to plan, to say the least, at York City last year, there was a sense that this pre-season was important for him to regain his confidence and show the club and fans that he does possess that quality.
His headed goal against Penybont was well taken, but his strike against TNS has been City's goal of pre-season so far. He drove 30 yards with the ball at his feet and rifled a deflected shot past the keeper from a relatively tight angle. A lovely solo goal. The winger also displayed a coolness to find Robinson with a pull-back cross against Cambridge.
Tanner is doing all he can to show the new manager and coaching staff that he really does have something to offer. Perhaps a year of conditioning and getting up to speed has readied him for a season of making an impact higher up the football pyramid.
Will it be at Cardiff? Well, if he continues the rest of the season in this vein, then why not? But perhaps a loan move, and one in which he plays a lot of games, is needed - especially given the signings already and the other targets City have lined up.
But he has done everything which has been asked with him so far and good on him.
Joel Bagan
Fresh off the back of a new, three-year contract, Joel Bagan has been a welcome positive in this new-look Bulut side.
He has slotted in seamlessly to this new role of an inverted wing-back, picking up the ball regularly in midfield and using that lovely left foot of his to widen the pitch but also produce incisive, forward and central passes to the Bluebirds forwards, including a nice assist for Robinson against TNS.
There was a reluctance from Sabri Lamouchi and Mark Hudson to play Bagan last season, for whatever reason, but the former Republic of Ireland under-21 international looks set for a bigger role this term.
One suspects Jamilu Collins will be first choice when the season begins, but Bagan will be pushing hard for that spot. He's been someone for whom the club have had high hopes for some time, and it's probably fair to say he has not fulfilled that potential just yet, due to injuries and other setbacks over the last few years.
But at 21, he needs to get some games under his belt now and the early signs under Bulut are positive for him.
Joe Ralls
It's easy to get carried away talking about players you have seen less of, but Ralls will be happy with how his pre-season has started.
Having more options in midfield, owing to those inverted wing-backs, Ralls has looked really comfortable operating within those tight spaces and controlling the tempo of Cardiff's passing.
It appears City's midfielders are going to have a lot more of the ball under Bulut than under Lamouchi or Hudson and Ralls' decision-making and desire to drive Cardiff up the pitch will be a real positive, you feel.
Again, there is plenty of competition in the middle of the park but Ralls has arguably been the standout midfielder across the three games.
It will be intriguing to see how he, and Cardiff's other midfielders, fare against teams like Porto, Braga and Fulham in the coming weeks, given the Bluebirds' midfield players will be afforded less time and will have far more taxing defensive duties than they have experienced against opposition so far this summer.
