Steve Morison could not have been clearer to his players after Saturday's defeat to Blackburn Rovers.
The message was simple - buck up, or someone will come in to replace you.
Some may question the merits of tough love in the heat of a relegation battle. But needs must for Cardiff City, whose season is still worryingly close to disaster.
Saturday showed some positive signs, but another defeat, albeit at the hands of a Blackburn Rovers side that will likely be there or thereabouts at the end of the season, has done little to ease concerns over how this term could end.
Cardiff have all the hallmarks of a side in danger at the moment and, while performances initially improved under Morison, they are now winless in seven league games, and have still only kept one clean sheet all season.
Should Peterborough United win their upcoming game in hand, the gap between Cardiff and the dropzone will be cut to just one point.
Then, of course, there's Derby County, who simply refuse to lay down and die despite their 21-point deduction. They too will have the Bluebirds in their sights as they bid to avoid relegation.
With that in mind, this January window leaves precious little room for error.
Cardiff's first signing, Cody Drameh, was one of those to show promise against Rovers, and the grumblings from Elland Road over the circumstances of his exit suggest he was reasonably highly rated by Marcelo Bielsa.
Filling in the Ryan Giles void has been the big early priority for Morison this month.
Giles, who returned to parent club Wolves at the beginning of the window, could yet come back to the capital depending on how the next couple of weeks pan out at Molineux, but it's probably safer for City to assume that they've seen the last of the man who was comfortably their most creative attacking outlet.
Drameh, while not exactly a like-for-like replacement, has clearly been brought in with the hope of stepping up Cardiff's creativity, although interestingly he played on the right on Saturday, with Perry Ng shifting out to fill in for Giles on the left.
The youngster is more than capable of filling in that role on the left-hand side, but it remains to be seen whether he is indeed part of the immediate operation to replace the Wolves man.
There's every chance that the wide positions will remain a key priority over the coming couple of weeks.
Then again, there are other areas that will also be weighing on the manager's mind.
Defensively, Cardiff have been nowhere near good enough this term, and tightening things up at the back, one way or another, is essential to their survival chances.
It's for that reason that the possible sale of Aden Flint has divided so many supporters.
Some clearly still rate the towering centre-back, but others believe that at 32, and with his contract running out at the end of the summer, he's a player ripe for a sale.
It could also be argued that a fee, no matter how nominal, could then be put towards signing an upgrade.
Youngster Jonathan Panzo is a name that simply refuses to disappear, despite club sources dismissing suggestions of possible interest from the capital.
Then again, presumably in a bid to keep the their cards close to their chest, those same sources denied interest in Tommy Doyle too.
The imminent arrival of the Manchester City youngster arguably address another of Cardiff's key problems.
Too often, Cardiff have been too passive in midfield, frequently lack the pace or creativity to really harm defences.
Morison's decision to bring Ryan Wintle back from his loan spell at Blackpool shows, on some level, he concurs, but is he the sort of creative midfielder who will get Cardiff firing up top again? Jury's still out on that one.
There are plenty of options there, of course. Joe Ralls, Will Vaulks, Marlon Pack, Leandro Bacuna, Tom Sang and Sam Bowen are already vying for places, but none have really made themselves undroppable in recent weeks.
It's perhaps for that reason that the imminent loan of Doyle makes sense.
The number-one rule of the transfer window is always to bring in players who are better than what you have, and Morison may feel that the Man City youngster is a more exciting option than many of the other players in that position at his disposal.
Pack, Ralls and Vaulks may well find their bids for new contracts a little more difficult, and it wouldn't be a massive surprise to see at least one of Morison's many central midfield options moved on this month.
Certainly there are some players who look increasingly unlikely to have a long-term future at the club.
Ciaron Brown and Isaac Vassell are surely almost certain to leave when their contracts run out this summer, while there are still question marks over Sean Morrison and Alex Smithies, both of whom are similarly out of contract at the end of the campaign.
If Cardiff can squeeze a transfer fee out of any of them this month, it could well prove tempting to cash in.
Speaking of cashing in...
Kieffer Moore has, once again, emerged as the subject of speculation this window.
It's probably not surprising. While not managing to hit the heights of last season, Moore is easily Cardiff's most saleable asset at the moment.
Bournemouth have been linked, as too have Burnley, with the Clarets looking to sign a replacement for £25m Chris Wood.
At the time of writing, neither have firmed up any possible interest with a concrete approach, but it wouldn't be a surprise if someone, somewhere, decided to try to test City's resolve.
Moore was slapped with a £10m price tag when Wolves took an interest last summer, and it's likely that a similar valuation will be made this time around.
Losing the Wales international would unquestionably be a blow, but even if Moore does remain a Cardiff player at the end of the month, Morison clearly needs to find a way to get his forwards firing on a regular basis.
Moore is still the club's top scorer this season with five goals, with centre-back Flint and forward Rubin Colwill just behind him on four.
Fellow forward Mark Harris has just three goals, while James Collins only has two - the same number as Marley Watkins, who didn't even stay with the club for a whole month.
A forward is subsequently perhaps another item on Morison's wishlist this winter, and the frustrations over his players' efforts in the final third were evident after the Rovers defeat.
He said: "Two-thirds of it is excellent, but the final third has got to be better. We cannot keep saying, ‘Oh, we were unlucky, oh the keeper made an unbelievable save’.
“We need to be better in the final third. We have got to put the ball in the back of the net.
“And if the boys in the dressing room are not capable of doing it, we will try and get people who are better at doing it."
Max Watters has come back in a bid to help boost his options, but will surely need some bedding in given all his football this term has been in the third tier.
Finding a role for the returning loanee will be another priority, but it may take time for him to come good in a Cardiff shirt.
Given their current situation, time is the one thing they're rapidly running out of.
January simply has to be one of the most meticulous windows in City's recent history.
The cost of getting it wrong is almost unimaginable.
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