For so much of the season, relegation has felt an alien prospect for Tottenham Hotspur. Surely not, fans will have said at the pub after another defeat. Nah, one ardent supporter might have remarked when asked if he truly thought Spurs could be endangered in the Premier League.
But time is running out for the Londoners. With only five games of the season remaining, Spurs find themselves 18th, two points behind West Ham United.
The Londoners play Wolverhampton Wanderers today, and if they don't defeat the relegated Wolves at Molineux, Roberto De Zerbi can surely wave goodbye to Premier League survival, especially if West Ham win at home against Everton. Nottingham Forest's 5-0 thrashing of Sunderland has effectively pulled them out of the relegation battle.
Tottenham need to make a change, with the performance against Brighton an improvement, though still ending in a 2-2 draw.
The forwards are still misfiring, and Randal Kolo Muani surely needs to return to the bench.
Why De Zerbi needs to drop Kolo Muani
When Tottenham signed Kolo Muani on loan from Paris Saint-Germain last summer, it felt as though Thomas Frank's side had shrewdly completed their frontline, adding a dangerous and dynamic attacker.
Tottenham need to get one win on the board, having last claimed three points in December. It may well be that that would shatter the mental barrier and allow Spurs to ascend from the relegation zone over the final few weeks.
However, De Zerbi will need total commitment to the cause, and the French loanee is not playing with the intensity and passion that could be the difference in preserving top-flight status.
Against the Seagulls, the 26-year-old took one wayward shot and failed to create a single chance.
Kolo Muani is clearly a talented forward, but he's failed to put in the hard yards and now needs to be dropped. However, with options so slim on the right wing, this will be something of a risk.
That said, De Zerbi may have a wildcard at his disposal, a player who has impressed invariably at Tottenham despite playing a range of different roles.
De Zerbi could start Spurs talent in new role
There aren't many Tottenham players who can hold their heads high at the business end of the campaign, but Archie Gray certainly can, the 20-year-old having played with a maturity and intensity that has avoided many of his teammates.
To say that Gray has been chucked in at the deep end would be an understatement, but he's been strong in the duel and efficient when playmaking this season, and there's no question that his passion fair outweighs that of Kolo Muani.
Still, while Gray hasn't played that much football in the middle of the park (considering he is a natural centre-midfielder), he has impressed across a range of roles. Last year, the teenager did a job as a makeshift centre-back for Ange Postecoglou; now, aged 20, Gray has played all over.
He hasn't operated as an out-and-out winger, though, and that's something that could pay off for De Zerbi's side against a compact Wolves team who might stumble against the youngster's combative and tenacious attacking approach.
Gray is a promising technician. He has completed 33.3% of his crosses in the Premier League this term, putting him in the top 205 bracket there. Given that he's not really a wide player, this is an impressive metric, and it could be used to service the likes of Dominic Solanke or Richarlison in the danger area.
The one and only Harry Redknapp even said that he can see Gray as a "future Tottenham captain", so while interest abounds, it's imperative that he remains at N17 for the forthcoming campaign.
In order to do that, De Zerbi has to show that he trusts the young midfielder, and starting him against Wolves will be a sure-fire way to show the up-and-comer that he has his belief.
It would not be a call of sympathy, though. Gray is that good, one of the only bright sparks during a miserable campaign for the club. Tottenham cannot afford to blunder once again at Molineux. If they do, they will surely fall into the Championship with the Old Gold, relegated for the very first time in the Premier League.