You could argue that Everton have been in the crucial part of their season for some time.
But, in the next few weeks, it could be escalated to a new level under Frank Lampard.
The Blues have been embroiled in a fight towards the wrong end of the table for a number of weeks now having quietly slipped down the pecking order following their strong beginning to the campaign.
The new manager has brought with him a strong coaching staff, a refreshing philosophy and a different style of play to try and instil into this crop of Everton players.
In the weeks and months before the sacking of Rafael Benitez, the Blues had fallen into a rhythm which was proving worrying for a lot of supporters.
Surrendering possession easily, Everton looked to hit sides on the counter attack as it seemed the manager didn't want his players to keep hold of the ball for too long.
READ MORE: Frank Lampard has just taken first step in solving issue that has plagued Everton for years
Lampard has looked to change that somewhat.
The Blues are now not afraid to keep the ball a little longer, with their pre-match warm-up sessions providing a little insight on how the boss and his new staff want the side to look like.
Being in possession is one thing, but the new manager knows that his side can't pass the ball around just for the sake of it. For one, they don't have the quality to do that consistently, and it's not the style that fans at Goodison Park can really relate too.
The club's assistant manager Joe Edwards, whose arrival was confirmed alongside that of Lampard at the end of January, explained the ideals for the future at Goodison Park quiet succinctly last week.
He recently said in a wide-ranging interview with the club : "When we have the ball we want to find that balance.
"We were watching the team earlier on in the season and looking at stats as well and we thought that probably with the players that are here, it would probably be a positive thing to have more possession and control games by having the ball more.
"At the same time, we don’t want to come and play short passes around our own box for the sake of doing that.
"We fully understand we want to be an exciting team that ultimately creates a lot of chances to score goals.
"We know that the fans at Goodison like that, they like action in and around the goal area and again it’s our duty to make that happen and we’ve got the players to do it."
The next couple of weeks will be a real test for this style, however.
Of course, a match against Boreham Wood in the FA Cup is very difficult to judge given the level of the opponents that Everton will face - and the very nature of that competition could force a gameplan out of the window rather quickly.
But, looking at Everton's upcoming Premier League matches, it's a tough ask.
Man City at home and Tottenham Hotspur away, on paper at least, look like very difficult matches for the Blues to be faced with in their current situation.
And it could bring up something of a conundrum for Lampard.
He wants his side to play in the right manner, a different system to that which Benitez utilised in the opening months of the campaign.
But, that style of football has not been universally simple for the squad to adopt. Matches against Newcastle and Southampton showed just how far the Blues are from getting fully up to speed with that style.
Put in similar displays against certainly Pep Guardiola's side, if not Spurs as well, then the results are not likely to be present in the slightest.
Edwards talked about finding a "balance" with the playing style of the squad, and perhaps this is where Everton will have to show off their most defensive qualities.
In a way, Lampard's style could be even more important. Fast attacking play and moving the ball between teammates rapidly could be how the Blues disrupt City's flow of play.
But, out of possession might just be where these upcoming pair of matches are decided.
Some are writing off these games before they even take place, which Everton absolutely cannot afford to do in their current circumstances.
What will be intriguing though is just how much the Blues can, or try to, implement the new style from Lampard.
