Swansea City's weekend defeat by Brighton was hardly a showcase for football. The Swans' players ran out of attacking ideas some time ago and so Chris Hughton's well-disciplined visitors swatted away most of their advances with ease. And the Liberty Stadium crowd did not enjoy it.
A certain amount of acrimony is expected. There is a point, though, at which the irritation becomes so acute and the victimisation of players so consistent, that any neutral watching begins to feel a little uncomfortable. Swansea's supporters are absolutely entitled to their irritation, but there's no question that the atmosphere they're generating is counter-productive.
Yet it's one in which Tammy Abraham is still doing very well and, as the on-loan forward approaches his first senior international cap for England, that would seem instructive.
Abraham remains raw. He's a competent finisher rather than a flawless one and the options he takes with the ball don't always bear scrutiny, but those are imperfections which will disappear with time. He's only made 11 Premier League appearances and remains in the learning stage of his career. If Gareth Southgate does select him over the next 10 days, the expectation should be to see exceptional promise rather than a completely finished article; Abraham is already highly capable, just not to the extent that he one day could be.
But, tenuous as it may seem, it was impossible not to be drawn to his body language during that recent loss to Brighton. Statistically, he suffered through a fallow day. He might have done slightly better with a one-on-one chance in the second-half, but was otherwise marginalised from the game by the flaws in the team behind him. Swansea's set-piece delivery was dreadful for the entire 90 minutes, their wing-backs rarely got into dangerous crossing positions and Abraham wasn't backed with the kind of central creativity which allows a forward to make profitable runs beyond a defensive line.
It's easy to imagine how another loan player might respond to that situation. Come the end of the season, Abraham will be returning to Chelsea and the relative comfort of Cobham. What happens to Swansea beyond the expiration of his loan contract isn't really his concern. Nevertheless, he was the leader on the pitch. While his (far more experienced) team-mates were melting under the fans' hostility, he kept demanding the ball, kept encouraging the players around him and kept urging them to reach a higher standard.
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At the end of the game, as those dressed in white scurried quickly towards the tunnel and away from the boos, Abraham stood alone next to the centre-circle. Pitched somewhere between fronting up to what had happened and considering his own role in the performance, it was more a moment of sincere reflection rather than a re-enactment of William Gallas's famous strop.
All encompassed, it amounted to the only bright spot within a dismal afternoon. It was also descriptive. Abraham is intelligent and seems to have insatiable enthusiasm for the game - we knew that already - but these initial appearances on the Premier League stage have shown him determined to benefit from this experience.
He also appears to have maintained his level of performance in spite of his surroundings and, although only by fractions, has grown as a player over the past three months. He releases possession quicker than he did before, he deals with physical attention from centre-halves in a more nuanced way, and he's now far more willing to drive with the ball from deep positions and take defenders on.
Some of that has developed out of necessity, as Abraham has become integral to Swansea far quicker than he might - or should - have done. Often, he has had to be the one who changes the mood: with a bit of skill, perhaps, or a swift turn upfield.
Other parts, however, are indicative of who and what he is as a player: a centre-forward who responds extremely well to elevation, is intent on absorbing the full value from every experience, and who should find the transition to senior international football not only easier than most, but also extremely useful. He's absolutely equipped for this challenge - physically, technically and emotionally.
Gareth Southgate may have arrived at this decision in part because of interest from the Nigerian FA, but it is nevertheless the right one. Abraham is ready - not finished, but ready. He's a player of vast potential with an almost unquantifiable capacity for improvement and, the chances are, that won't be such a well-kept secret by this time next week.
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