There is no getting round the fact that Cardiff City have a target on their back this season.
It is commonplace with every team that has swapped the glitzy lights of the Premier League for the undulating battleground of the Championship.
This, however, is Neil Warnock's terrain. This is the league he knows best and the league he knows how to beat.
But the opening three fixtures have raised some pretty glaring concerns — especially in front of the Sky TV cameras on Sunday.
Cardiff whimpered to a 3-0 defeat, which could have been four were it not for Alex Smithies' late penalty save, as Reading ran riot against a disjointed and rudderless Bluebirds outfit.
While even the most ardent detractors will admit that winning away in the Championship is a seriously difficult task, it just didn't feel like the Cardiff we have become accustomed to seeing. So what exactly is going on?
Lightweight Cardiff
Once Marlon Pack hobbled off injured halfway through the first half against the Royals, the visitors ceded much of the control they worked so hard to get in the opening exchanges.
It left an extremely lightweight-looking midfield of Will Vaulks, Joe Ralls and Leandro Bacuna, who were overrun in their battle in the middle of the park.
While Warnock speaks of the palpable void which is being felt by Aron Gunnarsson's exit, as soon as Pack is removed from this new-look Cardiff side, it immediately looks fragile. That's not a great position to be in.
Aden Flint and Sean Morrison are natural leaders and provide strength and bite at the heart of defence, but with no Gunnarsson or no Harry Arter this season, a large chunk of responsibility consequently lies on Pack's shoulders.
Style and a lack of balance
Much has also been made of the style of play being employed by the Welsh capital club and Sunday's display appeared to highlight the lack of creativity and verve in key areas.
There was a backlash from supporters when Bobby Reid left for Fulham on deadline day, with many fearing that would greatly reduce the number of attacking outlets.
Reid started in the defeat by Wigan on the opening day of the season and many, understandably, believed he would occupy that number 10 role for the duration of this Championship campaign.
Warnock's selection of players to fill that role since Reid's exit, Callum Paterson and Vaulks, goes a long way to showing the shift in style, at least going forward.
While those issues affect the team down one end of the pitch, one look at the goals conceded column tells its own story down the other.
Cardiff have shipped seven goals in their first three games — six in their two away fixtures — and Warnock himself was visibly furious about his side's leaky defence after the Reading rout.
"You've got to defend better than what we did today," he grumbled. "We're in the Championship. I think some of the defending was really poor."
The loss of Lee Peltier was also felt. Cardiff were interested in recruiting a right back this summer, however after Curtis Nelson arrived that pursuit appeared to go cold.
Peltier did not travel to Reading owing to ankle trouble and it highlighted another troublesome area for Warnock. The right back was replaced in the starting line up by Bacuna, who coped poorly in unfamiliar surroundings, before Nelson came on to make his debut. The summer signing looked a little shaky, but let's reserve judgment given it was his first outing.
The imbalance does seem curious, though. On one hand, the Bluebirds have five strikers all battling for one starting berth, but, on the other, have only one out-and-out right back — and the same goes at left back with Joe Bennett following the loan exit of Greg Cunningham.
It all feels like a bit of a jigsaw which everyone, including Warnock, is trying to piece together. The manager said he was planning on building his team around Reid this season and now he finds himself trying to find out how best to fit Robert Glatzel and Vassell into a system and team with which they are unfamiliar.
It all looks a little bit of a teething period and perhaps that's understandable given the volume of exits and arrivals this summer — the players aren't going to meld together immediately. And, of course, this is all without mentioning the mountain of injury strife they are currently facing.
So while it should be said that they have played only three games — a sounder judgment can be made after 10 — Wednesday's fixture against Huddersfield carries with it the extra pressure this Cardiff would much rather do without.
