Manchester City fans can watch with their feet up as Premier League rivals scramble to find new managers.
Chelsea followed Tottenham at the weekend in dismissing their head coach while not having a replacement lined up, meaning two teams playing for Champions League and Champions League qualification respectively are currently being steered by caretakers. At the wrong end of the table, Leicester have done similar with Brendan Rodgers while over in Germany while Bayern did line up Thomas Tuchel before sacking Julian Nagelsmann even Tuchel was surprised to be getting the job now at such a busy part of the season.
Blues can sit back and enjoy the fact that Pep Guardiola will be in charge for as long as he wants, with a contract until 2025 and a board that give him exceptional support and resources to do his job. However, the early signs from Chelsea and Tottenham show what a one-off Guardiola has been and still is.
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City fans have always taken to their managers under Sheikh Mansour's ownership, but Guardiola has elevated the club to be the dominant force in English football and consistently in the Champions League latter stages during his seven seasons in Manchester. When he leaves, the club will obviously need an elite coach to replace him.
The current landscape makes clear, though, that there are no ideal candidates currently standing out. Two of the brightest rising coaches in the game, Julian Nagelsmann and Graham Potter, have suffered their first big setbacks after falling short of the demands placed on them by Bayern Munich and Chelsea respectively.
Luis Enrique, the man who enjoyed the most success at Barcelona after Guardiola's time there, has been chastened after an underwhelming World Cup with Spain saw a decision over his future taken for him by the Spanish FA. Much closer to home, even if a limp dismissal at Leicester has not stopped Rodgers being linked to better jobs his stock at City that was once very high no longer looks so promising.
The dream, of course, is to see a Guardiola pupil or club legend - or both, in the case of Burnley's Vincent Kompany - take the reins next and keep it within the City Football Group family. Kompany remains green in his coaching career despite this year's success, while another former favourite Patrick Vieira has just lost his job at Crystal Palace in similar circumstances to Rodgers; Mikel Arteta could count in this bracket, although he is currently topping the Premier League with a club that he captained as a player.
None of which will come as a huge surprise - replacing Guardiola was always going to be a Herculean task. Also, when he does leave the board should have enough credit from a patient fanbase to give his successor time from the start.
However, the demands facing other clubs at the minute looking to get their recruitment right put into focus the reality that plenty of things will have to give when it comes to choosing Guardiola's successor.
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