Thomas Frank has pledged to attack the FA Cup with full power as he searches for sanctuary at the end of another storm-tossed week at Tottenham.
Silverware brought salvation for Spurs last season despite finishing 17th in the Premier League, although the Europa League was not enough to spare Ange Postecoglou.
His successor Frank, while backed by the owners, is under increasing fire from fans having won only 11 of his first 30 games in charge, and just four of the last 16.
'I'm very, very aware that a cup run will be fantastic,' said Frank. 'So, we will do everything we can to win the game and progress to the next round and to install belief. We will go full strength, all in, we want to win both the game and the tournament.'
Full strength will be without Cristian Romero, however, who has been hit with an extra one-match ban for failing to leave the pitch promptly after his red card against Liverpool last month, and with injuries piling up.
Mohamed Kudus, Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur are the latest hit but winning is the only way to turn a mood soured by a return of two points from three games in seven days against Brentford, Sunderland and Bournemouth.
Frank's team wallow in the Premier League's lower reaches. They are booed when they fail to win and were taunted by their own fans at Brentford with cries of 'boring, boring Tottenham'.
Confidence is low and emotions run high. Micky van de Ven became embroiled in angry post-match exchange with fans after the defeat at Bournemouth and captain Romero took to social media to accuse the board of 'lies'.
Romero's comments were condoned by teammates, hinting at disillusion in the dressing room about ambition in the transfer market.
Spurs are close to signing Brazilian teenager Souza, a left back from Santos, but one third of the way through the January window they have not strengthened Frank's first team, and sold last season's top scorer Brennan Johnson to Palace.
Protest group Change for Tottenham, the force behind last season's marches and a campaign to oust chairman Daniel Levy, issued a statement this week saying: 'We will be planning action if the club fails to deliver again – this can't be another failed transfer window.'
Discontent rumbles, reflecting a fear that nothing has really changed at post-Levy Spurs and that while ticket prices are still among the highest in the world recruitment remains focused on potential for profit in the future.
For all the positive messages from the Lewis family about achieving sporting success they stand accused of settling for sporting mediocrity.
'That's impossible at Tottenham,' said Frank, when the notion was put to him this week. 'I didn't just come to this club to finish 14th or 10th, eighth, sixth, fourth, third, second. We want to build something that can be very successful over time.
'I'm very aware where we are right now. I think it's fair to say that not many are. I know where we want to go and then we need to be judged at the end of the season.'