So we got stuffed by the Arsenal? So what? They're a team and a club that have been years in the making.

Yes, it's horribly painful to watch us get torn apart, see goals whacked past us and all that. But scratch beneath the surface and what do you find? That's the key.

Let's look at the backroom for starters. This is a new team – still learning to work together. People never see them and think it's all sorted within days. It isn't. Jobs and roles have to be clarified, tasks agreed. We didn't have one last year – now we do. That's building. It will take time for that to gel and start producing some real quality. Craig Brown has to get his team working – the results will be seen maybe next transfer window, but maybe more so the one after – when we're back in the Championship probably.

The money side – we're still developing that side. Only two years ago, we were being bled dry by the Three Amigos. Sunderland and Birmingham had parachute money. We didn't. To use a car analogy, they're Ford Focus (Arsenal are Maserati class) while we're Morris Minors. Poor, fairly sturdy but slow, and none too easy on the eye. But Gadsby is working on that one. It will take about 5 years or bit more to turn it all around – look at how long it took Arsenal to build the Emirates just to keep up with Manure.

Reserves – a team for the first time this year. Some will be Academy players, and some squad Championship players who need to keep up their fitness levels. The Aston Villa defeat was worrying as so many of the team were supposed to be Championship class at least.

The trick is to manage for today and for tomorrow. Failed managers or clubs always manage for today and eventually tomorrow comes. Look at Bolton. Where are the young players coming from? Manchester City – a rich vein of young players coming through, plus some astute signings and Sven's your darling! No guesses where they are respectively.

We've had Huddlestone, Barnes, two half decent goalies, all from the ranks. We need more. That's why I always thought it a mistake to dispense with the reserves, a mistake that will take at least two years to correct. And I also thought it a mistake to put in so many squad players against Villa reserves. I thought we should have stuck to blooding Academy players and give them games at that level. But that's about tomorrow. And if you manage for tomorrow, people get agitated because you're not doing well today. So it's always a balance – I just hope the club don't focus on today because of a few bad away results.

The Academy? How's that doing? Hard to say, but from the evidence against Chelsea, there are some decent players on the way. But a few will have to go quickly to make room for better players attracted to a Premiership class club. Yes that's right – club. We don't have a Premiership team. We have some Premiership players but most, I'm afraid are Championship class who might sneak results against the likes of Bolton, Reading, Sunderland but get hammered by the aristocrats.

Overall, this is a Premiership club in the making. The early stages. And that's what we have to hang on to. We're infants compared to some of these Premiership clubs that have had years to build (and money to make it happen). And let's take some comfort from some comparisons – Watford? I would imagine we are further down the road than they are. We have better gates than Wigan and Fulham.

If we hold our nerve – we can be a Premiership club – but maybe just not this season.

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