Should Thomas Frank fail to present tactical and cultural improvements before the end of the 2025/26 campaign, it seems a given that he will be dismissed from his managerial post at Tottenham Hotspur.
Familiar territory for the Spurs faithful, cold and familiar territory. Frank is bound to feel hard done by following some of the circumstances at N17.
But then there's no question that his reign hasn't been good enough so far, with Spurs 14th in the Premier League and reliant on winning the Champions League to make it a season of silverware.
With ENIC Group active in the January transfer market, Frank has a chance to turn things around, but that doesn't mean a success plan hasn't been put into place.
The managers lined up to replace Thomas Frank
Tottenham's winter transfer plans are being conducted in line with Frank's needs to bring this struggling Spurs side out of their shell. However, the Lewis family are prepared to be adaptable.
Football Insider believe an interim manager could be appointed if the Danish coach is dismissed in the coming weeks or months, but Spanish sources suggest Xabi Alonso is already in the running after recently parting with Real Madrid.
However, there appears to be a preference for Premier League experience, and TEAMtalk believe Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola is among the leading candidates for the role.
Iraola, 44, has done fine work on the south coast with the Cherries, shaping them into a secure attacking unit. But he perhaps wants to level up after several successful seasons, especially when you consider that his contract at the Vitality Stadium expires at the end of the current campaign.
Why Andoni Iraola would be a Frank upgrade
Tottenham's home form has left a lot to be desired for quite some time now, and with Frank's lot hosting imperilled West Ham United on Saturday, anything other than an assured victory could prove a tipping point.
Especially since Iraola's Bournemouth beat Spurs with a last-gasp winner last time out in the Premier League. There was a game which the north Londoners could not afford to lose, but they lost all the same, keeping them mired in the bottom half of the standings.
He's instilled the perfect philosophy for a club like Tottenham, and he's been hailed as the "best coach in the Premier League" by journalist James Horncastle besides, an expert man-manager who gets the most out of his attackers. Look at Dominic Solanke and Antoine Semenyo more recently than that.
Moreover, there's a romanticism attached to a potential Spurs bid, with the club potentially repeating their one-time move for Mauricio Pochettino, who wound his way to north London after an excellent start to his career in English management with south coast side Southampton.
Those were the halcyon days. Tottenham failed to win a trophy under the Argentinian, but they were feared as one of the slickest and most stylish English outfits of their time, possession-based and with a focus on pressure and precision.
Both Pochettino and Iraola could be said to have overachieved on England's southern beaches, and given the career that Poch has gone on to have, leading a number of top European teams, ENIC Group might repeat the trick with Iraola.
For sure, the Cherries are imperfect, having snapped a long winless run with a win over Tottenham last time out, but the fact remains that they have punched above their weight class over the past few years, staying afloat even after selling numerous key players from defence last summer.
Even now, they produce impressive creative numbers, far above those of Frank's Tottenham.
This speaks of understanding and receptiveness from the squad, a willingness to put the vision into practice. Sadly, this has not been the case for the Lilywhites this year, and it's becoming clearer and clearer that change is needed.
To Dare Is To Do. Tottenham don't look like they dare to do much at the moment, tentative and afraid and lost in a system that is not working.
But Iraola, with his progressive and attractive brand of football, could be the right man to turn the tide over the coming years.