One thing I'd put into the positive column is that we look a more competent, professional defensive unit these days, although the bar was super low there...
It wasn't that long ago that we were comedically, self-destructively bad at times. We look solid overall and that gives you a base to build on. How far back do we have to go to find the last manager that gave a sh*t about being tight defensively? Not lip service, but actually clearly working at it. I think it does come at the cost of attacking play, but at least it's something to build on and tweak, even if it's not perfect.