Quite rightly, much of the focus from people both on the inside and on the outside at Cardiff City has centred around Championship survival this season.
The Bluebirds sit precariously above the relegation zone, four points above all of the three teams below them, but having played one more game than two of them.
There are 12 games left and it looks like it's going to go down to the wire. Cardiff's brief renaissance, when they won back-to-back games against Birmingham City and Reading, was cut short last weekend when they were downed 2-0 at Norwich City.
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A dozen games, then, for Sabri Lamouchi to "save the club", as he puts it. Two of those games, including one this weekend, are derby matches against Bristol City and Swansea City, too. Another two are against former managers in Mick McCarthy at Blackpool and, of course, Neil Warnock at Huddersfield Town.
Everywhere you look, there is a sub-plot just around the corner. That is why there is so much focus and intrigue surrounding this tightly-fought relegation scrap at the bottom of the Championship. Just nine points separate the bottom eight teams.
Cardiff, though, have a few issues bubbling away in the background which cannot be overlooked. While it's all hands to the pump regarding the Bluebirds' survival in this division, they cannot start pre-season or next term on the back foot. Planning must be in place to ensure they hit the ground running and avert this crisis again in 12 months' time.
So, we take a look at the uncertainty surrounding some of the longer-term issues which need resolving and when they are likely to be addressed...
The manager
Arguably the most important of the lot.
There is scarcely widespread positivity when a manager is appointed, but it's fair to say the mood among Bluebirds fans when Lamouchi was given the reins was one of unanimous optimism.
The Frenchman signed a contract only until the end of the current campaign and was open about why that was the case during his first press conference with the media. He did, however, say that if he achieved his goal of keeping the club in the division, he would want to stay in the dugout next season.
"Talking with the club, it’s easy," he said last month about his deal. "I am not here just to save the club. I am here to try to have a future together. I cannot talk about the future if the job is not done.
"Our goal, my goal, is to work together for a long time. But for that, it’s to do a great job right now until the end of the season. And to see Cardiff in the Championship next season, that’s it."
If he does that, will he be in the dugout next season? "Absolutely!" he replied.
But this survival battle might go right down to the wire. It might be May before we find out whether City have pulled off the great escape. Having the manager's situation still shrouded in uncertainty makes longer-term decisions less straightforward.
On the other side of the coin, though, would Lamouchi want to manage in League One? It's unlikely. If they are relegated, it could be six managers in two-and-a-half years. That really is not the model of stability.
Perhaps during the international break next month, when the relegation picture is a little clearer, talks might take place.
Out-of-contract players
That brings us to the out-of-contract players. Cardiff found themselves in a similar situation last year, with an interim manager in Steve Morison faced with the prospect of 10 players heading to the end of their deals in just a few months' time.
Morison was then given a contract until the end of the 2022/23 campaign, which obviously didn't work out, and could make clearer decisions over who he wanted to remain at the club. It was only Joe Ralls, it turned out.
But the time is coming when Lamouchi will have to start having some major conversations about who he thinks should be around the building next term - even if, at time of writing, his own future is still up in the air.
Mark Harris, Gavin Whyte, Tom Sang, Joel Bagan, Eli King, Connor Wickham and a duo out on loan, Kieron Evans and Dillon Phillips, all see their deals up at the end of the season.
How many of them will still be with the club next year? Well, it's a good question. Harris and latterly Wickham have been the most heavily involved, but the others have played bit-parts at best. It seems their futures will be decided in the coming weeks, though.
When asked when these players' futures would be decided, Lamouchi last week said: "It's absolutely a good question. So I will probably tell you that after the international break.
"Let me focus on Norwich, Bristol after that, Preston, West Brom and Rotherham. Then, after Rotherham, during the international break, with the club we will sit and we will see where we will be at this moment.
"And then we will take our responsibility to look forward for the club."
The youngsters
Now this is a tricky one and something which appears to have changed under Lamouchi; the involvement of Cardiff's young players.
Cardiff made a conscious decision under the management of Neil Harris to invest in and promote youth. They put a larger focus on their academy and plucking talents out to train with the first team with a view to including them on a consistent basis.
It worked to a certain extent with the likes of Harris, Bagan, Rubin Colwill and Isaak Davies, while others stepped up before being quickly taken out of the firing line.
Since Lamouchi has come in, though, the manager has opted for more gnarled, grizzled Championship performers and wants to pack his squad with experience, seemingly.
It means the youngsters invariably drop down to the under-21s for game time and it therefore knocks other young prospects down to the under-18s and so on. It's a growing concern and not one which has escaped supporters.
Burnley were keen on Isaak Davies last summer and even tabled a bid for him. Rubin Colwill played in a World Cup just months ago, while Harris was also in Qatar with Wales. But the instability of constant manager turnovers and a focus on the short-term goal of survival appears to have had a detrimental affect on them.
These are players the club view as assets and they desperately don't want their values to fall. At the same time, though, Lamouchi is rightly focused on keeping the club up. If they aren't performing, and let's be frank they probably haven't tracked along the line of progress the club would have liked, then tough calls have to be made.
However, it would be a crying shame to see all the hard work which has been placed into the Bluebirds' production line over the last few years go to waste. There is talent there and it must be coaxed and nurtured, because it could potentially net the club millions in the transfer market or even save them a small fortune by not having to by in from elsewhere.
Addressing the development of youth and the long-term strategy of elevating youngsters into the first team is another bridge which must be crossed before too many become disillusioned with it.
Transfers
Cardiff cannot afford another near-disaster of a window like they had in January. They have to be locked, loaded and ready to go when the summer window opens.
Work is constant behind the scenes when it comes to the transfer window and the recruitment team have certainly had their hands full over the last 18 months or so, that's for sure.
They will be planning two scenarios now, a transfer strategy for the Championship and also for League One. Everyone at the club hopes they get to pull the trigger on that first scenario, of course.
Transfer priorities are already being identified. With Sory Kaba leaving, Wickham and Harris out of contract and Isaak Davies not really getting a crack, at least one striker is going to be needed.
And because goals have been at such a premium, some creativity in that midfield is sorely lacking, too. Their midfield players are all too similar at present.
They will have two players who will feel like new signings in Ebou Adams and Jamilu Collins. The return of the latter might just quell the need for a left-back in the summer window. Having Adams and Collins back next year will be a big boost.
Cedric Kipre will return to West Brom, meaning centre-back is also very high on the list. While Mark McGuinness and Perry Ng are set to play a big part again next term, providing none of them leave, they need another body in there, with Jack Simpson having struggled this term.
The partial transfer embargo will play its part, too, and we mustn't forget that. The EFL stipulate that Cardiff still aren't allowed to pay a loan or transfer fee for players, so the Bluebirds will once again be shopping in a narrower market than most unless that gets overturned.
Quality loan players or the pick of the free agents is the best they can hope for at present. That requires even more meticulous planning. If the manager leaves before the summer shopping spree, though, that makes the job 10 times harder.
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