For Harlequins head coach Danny Wilson the prestige of winning silverware didn't last overly long - and he and his teams won't be defined by what trophies they do or don't lift at the end of the season.
The Welshman is in the midst of his first season at the Stoop having arrived off the back of a stint with Leicester Tigers. The well travelled coach has sampled a host of different environments following a coaching career that began at London Welsh well over a decade ago.
Success with Cardiff Blues in the form of the European Challenge Cup, secured with a late Gareth Anscombe penalty in 2018, proved that his methods weren't just effective, but they could land trophies. Wilson admits to a sense of personal pride following that success in Bilbao.
However attention quickly turned to the following season and, in his eyes anyway, any possible legitimacy or credit he earned from that victory soon faded into the background.
He told Mirror Sport when discussing that triumph: "Winning silverware, one you feel personally like you've achieved something in your coaching career, European silverware especially. And maybe, I don't know this, for a short period of time you get a bit of credit but that soon goes, I don't think it sticks around for very long."
Wilson, along with Quins Director of Rugby Billy Millard, are attempting to mastermind more history in south west London. The European dream ended recently with a loss in Toulouse. Now it is all eyes on a Premiership final day that will either see the club make the post-season, or it'll all end following their game with Bristol Bears.
Quins have made huge strides this term. Their forward pack has earned more plaudits than ever, owing to a host of driving maul tries that represent an impressive shift from last season's stats. The topsy-turvy games that they were often involved in have become more measured and for Wilson the process, or the game model, which he was keen to introduce, supersedes the idea that one moment could define their year.
"I don't think everything can be judged on silverware," he said. "A bounce of a ball can literally be the difference in a knockout game where you might feel you got it right, but you didn't quite get over the line. The process is what we judge it on - and if that is right it should lead to a lot more wins than losses."
The relentlessness of professional sport means those winning moments are special, yet brief. Wilson, like the majority of coaches, wears the losses far more than the victories.
"Wins and losses, genuinely it is 24 hours, max 48 hours, then it is gone," he admitted. "You review the game pretty much immediately, do your analysis. The best buzz is the changing room after a win, maybe that night, and then it is gone. That has to be the same with losses, but I struggle with that more, I carry them for longer."
The biggest loss Wilson has had to deal with in his career is the loss of a job. His Glasgow Warriors reign was ended 12 months premature after a 58-point loss to Leinster cost him his job in Scotland. The 47-year-old was dealt with that reality for the first time in his career, and admits to a sense of what might've been and "disappointment" had he been able to coach a group of players in his third year that had finally had the financial backing he'd waited for.
He reflected: "You always know in this game, as negative as it sounds, one day you'll probably get sacked. You can't win everything, things change and you see out changes in places. Glasgow was the first time I'd been sacked, previously I'd left to pursue other opportunities. The shock kicked in, financially I was ok for a while, but I needed another job and then you're at the mercy of the rugby world.
Mercifully for Wilson, Quins were on the lookout for a key cog to fit into their well oiled machine. Winger Cadan Murley has admitted the head coach is "very different to what we had in the past" with the Welshman bringing "what they'd been lacking".
That is evident. For the first time ever the London outfit were European Cup semi-finalists. Climbing the mountain that is beating Bordeaux in their own backyard to reach the last four. They've constantly been competitive in the Premiership, putting big scores on the likes of Sale Sharks and Northampton Saints.
Quins, known as the great entertainers, have continued to do just that this season. led by the mercurial Marcus Smith, who Wilson acknowledged for his incredible work ethic, not his natural talent. The head coach knew his role would be to fine tune, not rip up a hymn sheet from which the Stoop love singing off.
He said: "There's a DNA at this club, but my job was to quickly come in and see what was working and what we need to keep, what we needed to stop doing or maybe just adjust. Trying to find that impact where we could do what we're doing now - European semi-finals and hopefully a play-off spot in the Premiership. The DNA will always be Quins, there's a passionate support base so you'd be foolish to go against that DNA."