The message from the Palermo ultras was clear. “Total failure” proclaimed one of the banners in the Curva Nord of the Stadio Renzo Barbera as the Sicilians stumbled to a 2-1 defeat at home against Catanzaro on December 15.

While the verdict may have been premature, there was precious little to be found around Palermo a month ago.

The loss against Fabio Caserta’s team was the second in a run of three straight defeats, which left the Rosanero outside the play-off spots going into Christmas as pressure built on manager Stefano Dionisi and sporting director Morgan de Sanctis.

But the new year has brought better news to Sicily’s capital.

The 2-0 win over Modena last Sunday was Palermo’s second in three matches, after a victory over Bari on Boxing Day was followed by a disappointing injury-time loss away at Cittadella, and restored them in the play-off spots, albeit only on goal difference.

After a troubled first half of the season there are signs that, however tentatively, Dionisi appears to have finally settled on a functional formation.

Having been handed a stay of execution, Dionisi has changed his approach too. Out went the 4-3-3 formation that Palermo were wedded to for the first half of the season in favour or a more solid 3-5-2, which has so far brought the best out of Matteo Brunori and Jeremy Le Douaron.

The former made his first start in almost three months on Boxing Day and has scored once and assisted another in three appearances since, while the latter opened his Palermo account in the defeat against Sassuolo on December 21 and has scored twice in the following three matches.

“I’m fully committed to giving my best, as are the players,” Dionisi said last Sunday. “When we get positive results, it makes everything more enjoyable for everyone. Winning is a great sign.

“The last two weeks have been challenging, but the team’s enthusiasm has been unwavering. I highlighted this before the match, and their performance today was a testament to that.”

The question, as ever, is whether Palermo can finally find the kind of consistency that proved so elusive in the first half of the season. Three points against Juve Stabia on Sunday would go some way towards proving victories over Bari and Modena were not just another false dawn.

One of the surprise packages of the season, the Stabians are fifth on the table, three points ahead of their opponents on Saturday and six adrift of third-placed Spezia, who they held to a 1-1 draw last weekend.

After winning just once in eight matches between October and November, Guido Pagliuca’s team won three on the bounce over the festive period to boost their chances of securing an unlikely promotion.

But no sooner had the corner been turned that a defeat against Reggiana and a draw at home against relegation-threatened Frosinone checked their momentum.

The main concern for Pagliuca, who will have to watch from the stands in Palermo after receiving a two-game ban following his sending off against Spezia, is that his side remain over-reliant on summer signing Andrea Adorante for goals.

The former Triestina striker has scored eight times this season, with Leonardo Candellone and Francesco Folino the next best with three apiece, which explains why Juve Stabia have a negative goal difference despite being right in the thick of the play-off race.