Inside the week Sunderland's Kyril Louis-Dreyfus era suffered its first real setback and what we learned from it

There was a long chat with Ben Mansford, who had been Lee Johnson's CEO at Barnsley. The pair have retained a good rapport, and Elliot Embleton's presence at Bloomfield Road has been another reason for regular dialogue.

Then came the new boss.

With Kyril Louis-Dreyfus there were a couple of fist bumps and a couple of minutes of measured chat about the game.

By the time Johnson spoke to the media, there was bitter disappointment but a determination not to overreact.

A sentiment the head coach said was shared by the club chairman.

"Kryil had very much the same view on the game, very much the same," Johnson said.

"Anybody that was here, their guys said exactly the same, so we're not deluding ourselves.

"He's been as good as gold and I'm enjoying building a really good relationship with him."

These post-match debriefs have been very much par for the course since Louis-Dreyfus' arrival. He has been a hands-on presence at the club, from the serious business of forward planning to the not quite so serious business of head tennis at the Academy of Light.

Still, the clear poise felt notable given that this was the week in which Sunderland suffered their first real setbacks since his arrival.

Just seven days earlier, he had not witnessed a single defeat as majority shareholder but now, hopes of the top-two were just about up in smoke.

In his first in-house interview, Louis-Dreyfus was clear about two things.

One, that Sunderland had absolutely not given up on hopes of winning promotion this season. Given that this was mid-February and the Black Cats were still well off the pace, it was an optimistic, even defiant message.

Two, that if that did happen then there would be no panic. He has a vision he believes in and a short-term setback will not derail that.

For all on Wearside, these seven days were galling.

Not just for the results themselves, but the manner in which Sunderland have fallen short at the crucial moment of the season.

Even if this performance (and the one against Charlton) had been decent for the most part, you can forgive the bitter frustration that has been felt.

Johnson has spoken of concentration fatigue perhaps affecting his group. Understandably, there is little chance he and those relatively new to the club can appreciate the extreme emotional fatigue fans are experiencing at watching another top-two tilt fall away. Particularly given that on this occasion, many had not so long ago made their peace with disappointment.

Just when we thought we were out, they pulled us back in.

When Louis-Dreyfus made his first public appearance against Shrewsbury Town, there was a growing sense of apathy. Few supporters then would have given you an optimistic reading of Sunderland's promotion chances and the pervading sense was that there was going to have to be more pain before a journey back towards the Championship could begin.A long unbeaten run, with a Wembley win thrown in for good measure, upended that thinking.

Sunderland managed to get themselves back into the driving seat and as such, their recent results have to be viewed in this context.

They were unfortunate last season to see their season curtailed but equally, their woe was self-inflicted given a four-game winless run before COVID-19 forced a break.

Similar to this season, Sunderland had hauled themselves back from the brink only to falter right when it mattered most.

Their position the previous season had been even stronger.

Given that the squad of players has been broadly similar throughout, then it is not unreasonable to wonder where the collective mentality has been strong enough. Particularly when the theme of this week was soft goals shipped, and a clear lack of composure in the final third under pressure.

Perhaps that relative sense of calm from the Sunderland hierarchy also stems, in its own way, from shortcomings laid bare.