Sometimes, it can take a look outside the great goldfish bowl of Midland football to putting things in perspective.
When made to stand comparison with their neighbours from across the city, Aston Villa's current problems suddenly do not look quite so bad.
Defeat to Everton at Goodison Park - their third away loss in a week - had brought a fans' protest aimed at manager David O'Leary.
The Villa supporters finally snapped after the despair of seeing their team's slim hopes of a European place and potential FA Cup glory all go up in smoke inside eight days.
But Villa's assistant manager Roy Aitken is insistent that there is nothing much wrong when looked at from a more long-term outlook. And, although entirely sympathetic with the fans' worries, Aitken is also keen to put right the assertion that there is any unhappiness within the camp at Bodymoor Heath.
"I'm not saying everyone is as happy as Larry," said Aitken. "No-body ever is after a defeat and we've just had three of them in a week.
"But, as far as the overall morale of the group is concerned, that's fine. The frustrations of the fans are understandable.
"Fans get uptight and it can snowball a bit if things don't turn around quickly.
"We know how much it means to the supporters. But, by God, we're the same. Don't underestimate how much it means to us. If things aren't going well, we feel it too.
"The big difference is that we're the ones who can do something about it.
"And, starting on Saturday when we play at home to Fulham, it will be so important to have a solid fan base, who you know are right behind you.
"We know the job that needs to be done and we don't want that to be fragmented by an overreaction to things.
"Some people might be trying to undermine that but this whole scenario of discon-tent needs to be nipped in the bid now.
"I've read about us having a demoralised dressing room. But that is a ridiculous comment.
"Look at us against Blackburn a week ago, when we played them off the park and still cannot understand why we didn't come away with a result.
"There was nothing demoralised about us in our last home game against Portsmouth the previous week either.
"All we know is there is room for improvement. But the players know that. They've just got to show a bit more consistency and cut out the mistakes.
"And the great thing about football is that you've always a chance to put things right, starting on Saturday against Fulham, the first of five home games that we think we can win."
While Aitken acknowledges that spirits need lifting to a degree, particularly off the park, he is also a seasoned enough campaigner to know that one result - and a decent home performance - against the Premiership's worst travellers would make a huge difference.
"Results are so important," said Aitken. "And the manager made it very clear before the Portsmouth game that he saw six home wins from our last six home games as the target. With our run of injuries, we still have to take each game as it comes, but we have to improve our results at Villa Park over these last few matches.
"The reasons for our home form have been hard to put a finger on. It's why the fans have become frustrated as that's when the bulk of them come to watch you.
"But nobody has come to Villa Park and cut us open like Arsenal did last year. Mistakes have cost us defeat to teams like Wigan, West Ham, Newcastle and Middlesbrough, and the handful of points from them would have made such a difference.
"But it's not a case of being depressed. It's a case of realising we can do better, something continually stressed by the manager. And all we ask is that the fans look at the bigger picture.
"People look more and more for the short-term fix, but we're looking more for the long-term gain. And we can look at two things to take from this season.
"Our away form has been generally good. And the big bonus for us has been bringing through so many youngsters.
"The experience Steve Davis, Liam Ridgewell and Luke Moore in particular have had has been invaluable. And, at Everton, we had three more involved in Craig Gardner, Peter Whittingham and now
Gabby Agbonlahor too.
"Speaking to David Moyes, he made great play of the fact that we'd had six youngsters out there.
"The manager has always been one for giving youth a chance and that can only serve the club in good stead."
It was also a much needed tonic for O'Leary to hear another manager like Everton boss Moyes appreciate that he is still taking his club in the right direction - a point emphasised when the Villa boss this week met with his board.
He might come across as thick-skinned, but even the David O'Learys of this world need the odd kind word when things are not going their way.
"The gaffer is very single minded," said Aitken. "He knows what he wants.
"He's very experienced and has achieved a lot, at Arsenal then in management at Leeds. But he still needs people around him he can trust, to bounce things off and discuss the pros and cons.
"Part of my job is to keep him upbeat, but he is still as determined and focused to get success, with the same principles on how to play the game as from the day we came in.
"And that's something the fans need to realise. That they've already got someone in place who really wants to do well for the club."
