Steve Morison has held no talks over his long-term future as Cardiff City manager but believes it would be unfair to make any concrete decisions on out-of-contract players until someone is appointed for next season.
Morison signed a contract until the end of the season and was tasked with getting the team away from the relegation zone, which he has done with the Cardiff sitting 15 points clear of the bottom three.
They are, in fact, at time of writing closer to the play-offs than the relegation zone, points-wise.
The manager revealed no official talks have been held over his future just yet, but amid a run of four wins and a draw in the last six games, and coming off the back of an encouraging transfer window, Morison's stock has grown.
"I’ve just tried to do the best job I can," Morison told WalesOnline. "I was tasked with getting the club in a better position in the league, which I know, position-wise is better but not miles away from where we were. But points-wise it is.
"To try and change the way we play, use younger players, come out of a transfer window better than we were when we went in. Connect the fans and team a bit more. I feel like I’ve ticked a lot of boxes.
"A lot of questions were asked of me, a lot of doubters, I’ve had to deal with 11 players out of contract as well.
"It was a big ask. I’ve just tried to do the best job I can. Everyone else will be the judge of that.
"I’m really proud of what I have done and what the staff have done. I will make no secret of it, I hope we can be part of what’s happening going forward.
"I’d like to have another transfer window, a pre-season and a chance to embed a culture and atmosphere, philosophy and style around what we do.
"It’s not something I can worry about just yet."
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While Morison wouldn't admit it, Cardiff fans can breathe a little easier now with the threat of relegation all but lifted off their shoulders.
It has prompted a noticeable shift in the fan base to look ahead to next season in hope of better things to come.
Morison said "the complete evolution" of this squad will be done in the off-season. There are 11 players out of contract in the summer, while the five players who are currently on loan will return to their parent clubs.
It will be a huge rebuild job, but Morison said he has given the fans a taste of what he would like to do in the summer with the work he did in January, albeit on a far grander scale.
"I feel like [the fans] now know me from that window and there’s honesty, we got exactly what we wanted," Morison added. "I was very clear and precise in what we wanted. I had a budget and I came in under that.
"Everything I said I would do, I did. While doing that I made us better. Hopefully that trust is there.
"None of it is for my own personal gain, it’s all for the benefit of the football club.
"I don’t get anything out of it other than having better players to work with and being able to put a team on the pitch that’s better for the fans and the football club. That’s all I could do and what I think I’ve done.
"If [fans] are thinking about the summer, ‘Oh will he be able to handle it?’, I know it was only a small window, but it shows where we want to go and the type of personnel we are looking for.
"I’d like to think I’ve put a tick in that box as well."
Morison has intimated to the board his thoughts on a few players staying on next season. He has spoken to them about Sean Morrison's future and has also waxed lyrical about Joe Ralls.
But, ultimately, he believes no concrete decisions can be made unless his own future is locked in.
With 11 players currently poised to head out the exit door at the end of June, conversations should be well underway pertaining to the offering of new deals.
"There are no contract talks or anything until a manager is in place, because that’s just not fair," Morison said of players' deals running down.
"It’s not right for me to make a contract decision on a player if it’s not going to be me in charge. Someone else might want that player and that might be their argument.
"Until something happens with myself then I can’t see anything happening just yet.
"From the club’s point of view, we have had conversations but they are all hypothetical and not set in stone.
"No one has come knocking on my door and asking about contracts, because everyone knows we are right in the middle of a fight we need to get out of. Once that happens I’m sure things will escalate a bit more.
"I’m sure if I signed a contract tomorrow then those conversations would happen even quicker. That’s just where we are at the minute. It’s not a conversation I can have with the players."
But time is of the essence, of course.
All clubs will be planning for next season in hope of hitting the ground running not only in the transfer window but when the campaign gets underway on the pitch.
Cardiff have started the last three seasons particularly poorly and if they have designs on challenging at the top end of the Championship table that cannot be the case when August hits.
"If conversations happen, then [the board] know how I feel, they know that I want to do the job, there is no secret to that," the Bluebirds boss said.
"It’s just a case of doing the job. My best chance of doing the talking is the team getting results.
"The closer you get to the end of the season is when you start thinking about where it’s going. That’s not just for me, that’s the whole football club.
"Planning starts now for next year. Not as you hit the end of the season, because you could have missed a heck of a lot."
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