Cardiff City manager Steve Morison believes the defeat by Bristol City was a watershed moment for his squad and hopes it can be the springboard to push the Bluebirds away from the drop zone.
The Severnside derby defeat at Ashton Gate was a miserable affair for Cardiff fans, having surrendered a 1-0 lead to lose 3-2, conceding three very avoidable goals in the process.
It was quite possibly Morison's lowest point as manager, with whispers of relegation ramping up in volume following that defeat.
But, three games later, there is far more positivity around the place. An impressive win over Nottingham Forest followed by a dogfight victory at Barnsley preceded a gallant display against English giants Liverpool up at Anfield.
And Morison believes that loss at Bristol City, after which he berated his side's meek display, helped to give their players the kick up the backside they needed, as Joe Ralls will attest.
"When you sit there and go through it in black and white and everyone has accountability, it is really interesting how the room opens up and everyone is going, 'Actually yeah, you're right', or, 'No, you're wrong' and you can go through it," Morison said of the post-Robins debrief.
"Little individual conversations we had after. I remember speaking to Rallsy in the middle of a little passing drill and he said, 'It was the kick up the a*** I needed'.
"That's the reaction you want and that's the impact it can make. That's all we've been trying to do all along.
"We’ve been up and down in our results and let's hope we can kick on now until the end of the season."
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Morison called for the games to mean more to his players after that derby defeat.
While there are 10 senior men whose contracts expire at the end of the season, Morison believes that everyone has something to prove now and that should fuel the fire within them.
In a roundabout way, that loss to their rivals has helped to facilitate a more competitive environment within the squad.
"I don’t think there is a body who can relax," Morison said of his players' futures.
"They are all playing for something. Whether it’s playing for a contract, whether it's playing to stamp your mark on being here and being the main man next year. Whether it's a loanee trying to prove to their parent club they shouldn't be out on loan, they should be playing.
"I think it's a really nice mix and it's definitely why we’ve had the positive results, you can see the hunger in them.
"Arguably we needed that game against Bristol City. Looking back now, the work we did after really ironed out some mental issues within the group to understand we need to start pulling together if we are going to go where we need to go.
"We can't be worrying about ourselves as individuals. To be the best you can be, you need the person next to you and that will help you flourish.
"I've got tough decisions to make now every single game, which is a nice place to be in."
This, of course, comes ahead of a huge six-pointer at the wrong end of the Championship table.
Cardiff take on Peterborough United, fellow strugglers this season, at home on Wednesday night and are looking to make it three successive Championship wins for the first time this term.
"They like to play football, play out from the back," Morison said of Posh.
"They’ll enjoy coming to our place because the pitch is lovely, theirs isn’t the best at the minute.
"They'll see it's an opportunity to get at us because we haven't been great at home. We need to be on our mettle.
"I’d love to hear that noise the fans brought on Sunday [at Anfield]. It can push us on to the level we need to perform at.
"We need to make sure it’s not after the Lord Mayor’s show."
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