So take a breath and have a little patience, please.
Joseph might be seen as the Messiah in many parts of this region but there should be no expectations of an instant miracle when he resumes duty in the season opener against the Waratahs in Sydney tonight.
The Highlanders are trending slowly upwards and should be competitive with most teams this season.
But the reality is they lack the star power and depth of the really big guns, and the Joseph 2.0 project is going to need time to flourish.
Still, it should be interesting tonight — and next week, when the Highlanders host the defending champion Blues in front of their biggest crowd of the season — to see what the return of the coach who won 54 of his 101 games in charge between 2011 and 2016 will mean.
The man himself looked in relaxed mode this week when he was asked about his emotions ahead of his Super Rugby comeback after a year in an off-field director of rugby role.
"They’re OK, yeah. I watched a few games last year, and my emotions were up and down.
"It’s a little bit different, obviously, being the coach again.
"I won’t know until I get into the coach’s box on Friday night, but I’m really looking forward to it."
Joseph has mostly been joined at the hip through his Highlanders career and six successful years with Japan by assistant coach Tony Brown.
Not this time, as Brown has a gig with the Springboks, but the old gang were briefly back together recently when Brown had a short spell as an observation coach to work with a new-look team including his brother, Cory, and Highlanders great Ben Smith.
"I rang him up and said ‘come on in, I need your help’.
"He’s obviously a big part of this club and he continues to be a very successful coach at the top end of the game.
"It was just getting his eyes, really, and his experience and sharing that with the coaches.
"That’s been a big help for us.
"We’ve got some young coaches, a new coaching team that hasn’t really coached together, and Tony understands how I like to set things up."
Tonight’s opponents also have a new coach.
Dan McKellar was most recently at English club Leicester but he is best known for a five-year stint with the Brumbies, and he returns to breathe new life into a Waratahs team that slumped to the wooden spoon last year but has way too much talent for that to happen again.
"I guess the Waratahs in the past have always been riddled with international players, and these guys are pretty much the Wallabies.
"They’ve got a lot of X-factor but we haven’t seen a lot of their Wallabies playing in preseason games, so perhaps that’s an opportunity ... that they haven’t quite connected as a team, yet.
"What a great motivator for our boys to go over to Sydney and get into it."
Joseph shed further light on perhaps his biggest early selection call.
He has given unheralded newbie Taine Robinson the nod at first five — ahead of presumed starter Cameron Millar — following a solid performance in the preseason win over the Crusaders.
"Taine hasn’t played a lot of rugby but we were really happy with him against the Crusaders, how he came on and controlled the match.
"We need both 10s. Cam’s very good around controlling the game, and we just feel we’ll have that cool, calm head coming on in the second half."
Joseph has also given his full support to young wingers Caleb Tangitau and Michael Manson as they prepare for a big night in Sydney.
"Time will tell, I guess. But they’re young, they’re exciting, lots of energy, and they’ve performed particularly well in the preseason."
Sam Gilbert will handle goal-kicking duties in Millar’s absence.
Highlanders v Waratahs
Sydney, 9.35pm
Highlanders: Sam Gilbert, Michael Manson, Tanielu Tele’a, Timoci Tavatavanawai (co-captain), Caleb Tangitau, Taine Robinson, Nathan Hastie, Hugh Renton (co-captain), Sean Withy, Lui Naeata, Mitch Dunshea, Fabian Holland, Saula Ma’u, Soane Vikena, Ethan de Groot. Reserves: Henry Bell, Daniel Lienert-Brown, Sefo Kautai, Nikora Broughton, Veveni Lasaqa, Folau Fakatava, Cameron Millar, Finn Hurley.
Waratahs: Joseph-Aukoso Sua’ali’i, Andrew Kellaway, Lalakai Foketi, Joey Walton, Max Jorgensen, Tane Edmed, Jake Gordon (captain), Langi Gleeson, Charlie Gamble, Rob Leota, Miles Amatosero, Hugh Sinclair, Taniela Tupou, David Porecki, Angus Bell.
Reserves: Mahe Vailanu, Tom Lambert, Siosifa Amone, Ben Grant, Jamie Adamson, Jack Grant, Jack Bowen, Darby Lancaster.
