Not sure that any of us will ever truly appreciate how much the Europa League run and ultimate defeat in the final took out of the team.
A 65 game season with several games at the tail end going to extra time and a few of the team playing a significant number of those games. Add in International duty for several and it was always likely to take its toll.
The disappointment of defeat and the manner of it would undoubtedly, have left them deflated and, added to the fatigue of an exceptionally long season, impacted the start of this season.
Selling a couple of our best players and not replacing also has an impact.
However if we win then the players turn up to preseason training with a spring in their steps and the weariness of a long season the year before is a distant memory.
Guaranteed Champions League money allows us to replace those who left with players of a similar, or better, quality and means that we can also add a few others so that we don't need to re-sign those aging players who have served us so well but are now no longer of the required standard.
No qualifiers for this seasons Champions League also means more time to recuperate between games and the undoubted benefit that brings after a season like last year.
In my opinion we would, therefore, have been in a better position than we are now and wouldn't have taken the heavy and embarrassing defeats that we did.
How much better is anybodies guess and we may still have been out the CL and trailing in the league - given the impatience of various parties and a weak as feck board then, if that was the case, we would probably have still sacked him to protect others.
Unfortunately he hasn't helped himself with some of his decisions but there are so many contributing factors, including the lack of backing, a horrendous injury list and players simply failing to do the basics, that it's hard not to feel for him.
So in reply to the question - "I've nae idea mate".
Long way to say it though