Just like Ancient Rome, a League Two promotion winning side isn't something that can be built in the space of a single day.
It's something that requires careful, sound judgment and- even in the current climate of managerial upheaval- a supportive board of directors.
This is a task that Alan Knill, John Sheridan and Paul Tisdale are all undertaking at the moment at Torquay United, Plymouth Argyle and Exeter City respectively.
All three men have previous experience of performing such a task, Knill with Bury in the 2010-11 season (before he handed the reigns to Ritchie Barker to take charge at Scunthorpe), Sheridan with Chesterfield during the same campaign and Tisdale with the Grecians in the 2008-09 season.
Now all three men are looking to repeat their previous feat in the South West.
Former Republic of Ireland midfielder Sheridan is currently looking to help the Pilgrims to live up to a word so often associated with the club- potential.
Since he replaced Carl Fletcher last January, Sheridan has successfully steered Argyle away from the foot of the League Two and dreaded drop into the Conference.
This season, for the first time in the space of five years, the 'Green Army' can now look towards the top half of the table and dream of top ten finish or even the possibility of a Play-Off spot after five consecutive relegation battles across three different leagues.
The Pilgrims currently lie in 12th place, following a 1-0 home victory over Bristol Rovers, and now have a settled squad, much of which has been put together by Sheridan himself.
At Plainmoor, Alan Knill became Torquay United on a permanent basis during the summer after the dismissal of Martin Ling.
Knill had taken charge on a interim basis in February, after Ling went on a leave of absence suffering from a stress-related illness, and, with the help of his assistant- ex-Gulls loanee- Chris Brass, guided Torquay away from the drop zone.
Given the level of investment in the club from the Consortium, which purchased the club from former Chairman Mike Bateson, relegation from the Football League last season would have had serious consequences for the club.
Following the end of the campaign, Knill released seven players and also saw Ryan Jarvis, Brian Saah and Rene Howe leave Plainmoor for pastures new.
However, Knill has spent the summer rebuilding the Gulls squad and with the addition of a number of new faces, including exciting wide men Jordan Chapell and Courtney Cameron, experienced striker Karl Hawley and promising defender Krystian Pearce, Torquay are now aiming to improve on last season's 19th place finish and eventually assemble a side that will challenge for promotion in the future.
Whilst Sheridan and Knill chose major surgery during the close season, Paul Tisdale opted for a nip-and-tuck job at St James Park.
Sam Parkin and Doug Bergvist, who was later loaned out to Welling United, were Tisdale's only summer captures, and they were later followed with the signing in August-after the season started- with the arrival of David Wheeler from Staines Town.
The Grecians have clearly benefited from this level of continuity as they currently lie in 5th place in League Two with an unbeaten home record, which so far reads as played three, won three.
Going into the current campaign, fans of Devon football will no doubt view the achievements last season of Yeovil Town, who reached the Championship for the first time in their history, and Bradford City, who became the first club from the Football League's bottom tier to reach the League Cup for over 50 years, as a cause for optimism for their own team's aspirations.
Between now and the end of May, we will find out whether those dreams will come true or not.
