Searching for success in an instant gratification society can be demanding for rugby coaches and it is an issue that affects the less-resourced sides worst.
As the Highlanders prepare to take on their asset-rich neighbour, the Crusaders, in Dunedin on Saturday, they know their fans expect a competitive performance with a side that maybe two years away from being anywhere near its peak.
Highlanders assistant coach, and former All Black, Tony Brown said the team management had 20 new players in their squad and the process of having players prepared physically and mentally to perform against the best players in the world took years to develop.
Having only had those players for a few months in a disrupted season, Brown said there was two years work ahead before the side was ready to be a contender for a championship win.
The players were working hard, they would beat some teams along the way and if they got some luck and momentum then the possibilities were endless.
"You always want to have a crack at the title but, realistically, you have got to build a championship-winning team. We've got the guys around the nucleus of that, we've just got to add a few different pieces and I think then we'll be title contenders," he said.
"Everything around our game is on the improve. To me, it is no different from 2014 and 2015 when we were trying to build a quality team.
"We are at that stage where things are coming together nicely. But it takes a lot of hard work to get all the plans right and get the detail right. The players are starting to embrace that, and improve themselves not only individually but our team as a collective."
Brown said it was still too early to tell where the Highlanders were in the race.
"Our first two performances have been a lot better than our performances pre-Covid so I think we are making progress."
Central to the Highlanders development in Super Rugby Aotearoa had been the improvement achieved by the forward pack.
As their game had improved the forward pack had turned things around to produce quality ball by putting teams under pressure with the lineout and maul. That then allowed the first five-eighths to have more space to control the game.
"Mitch [Hunt] has always played well, it's just he's been under pressure for a lot of the games, so now we're hopefully starting to get on top of a few teams we can create opportunities for him to show what he's got," Brown said.
That would be important against his old team, the Crusaders at the weekend. Brown rated them as world-class, if not the best team in the world.
The requirement for the southerners would be about playing their best to apply pressure on their northern rivals.
In their regular Super Rugby season game, the Highlanders had performed competitively but the Crusaders had been ruthless in converting their chances.
The lesson from that game had been the requirement to break through when getting into the Crusaders' 22m area. And that was where their defence the hardest to penetrate.
"They can be put under pressure at times, but it is about being able to execute when they are under pressure and finish off those opportunities which you might only get-two three chances in a game, so you have to take them," Brown said.
"They are a ruthless team. They score their points, so we have got to make sure we score ours when the chances come.
But as many coaches had predicted, the intensity of the competition is beginning to take its toll on sides.
The Crusaders have confirmed the loss of blindside flanker Cullen Grace to a broken thumb while the Highlanders have lost wing Sam Gilbert with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, an injury that will have him on the sidelines for nine months.
First five-eighths Josh Ioane has a groin injury and will not be considered for the weekend.