The magnitude of Swansea City's Championship clash with Rotherham United has significantly increased for reasons supporters will have felt were almost unthinkable after the World Cup break.
Russell Martin's men surged up to fourth in the table in October following a run of seven wins from nine matches, but things have drastically changed since that sequence ended with a 2-0 triumph over rivals Cardiff City.
Fast forward a few months, and the Swans are continuing to drift further away from the play-off places after what has been a messy period on and off the pitch for the club.
Having failed to adequately replace Hannes Wolf and Cyrus Christie - two key performers at wing-back in the second-half of last season - in the summer, the Swans then endured a dreadful January transfer window as the squad was weakened as opposed to being strengthened. You can read more about that here.
Michael Obafemi, Jamie Paterson, Wolf, Christie - all key performers last season - have not been sufficiently replaced. Academy duo Liam Cullen and Ollie Cooper have stepped up admirably this term, with the latter being the shining light in what has somewhat irritatingly turned into a campaign of anger and frustration following so much early promise and hope.
One of the few replacements the club did get right, they've, in theory, ended up weaker than last time out.
Flynn Downes excelled after joining from Ipswich Town before moving to West Ham United for a hefty fee last summer, but in Joe Allen, the Swans added some much-needed experience and quality to their ranks.
And yet, Allen has been severely hampered by injuries since leaving Stoke City to ensure that, despite proving exactly why he was recruited whenever he has fully regained match fitness, the Swans have been faced with another problem. Again, Jay Fulton, already in-house, has been the solution.
For context, Downes played 39 times in all competitions under Martin in his sole season in south Wales. Allen can only reach 35 appearances for the Swans this season, and that's on the proviso that he remains fully fit and features in every single remaining game between now and the end of the campaign.
Young, fresh faces including Nathan Wood, Harry Darling and Matty Sorinola have naturally taken time to adapt and have endured plenty of pain along the way so far.
And it has all led to the type of hangover that appears increasingly likely to seeing Swansea end up 'where they are', so to speak. They're not a Burnley or a Sheffield United, but they also have far too much in their ranks to be deemed relegation fodder at present, although, that could well change in the coming year or so if the squad continues to be weakened.
After 33 league outings last season, Swansea had 44 points to their name which saw them occupy 17th spot. They were actually closer to the relegation zone than the play-offs points-wise.
In 2022/23, Swansea are five places better off in the league standings and are eight points off the top six compared to being 11 points clear of the bottom three. And yet, Martin's men are currently on 42 points, two fewer than at the same stage last term. It sums up how damaging a run of just three wins in 17 league matches has been.
Defeat to Stoke was Swansea's fourth in five outings, and one that led to an outpour of frustration from the Jack Army. The reality now is that a performance and result against Rotherham is sorely needed, first and foremost, to simply halt an alarming slide.
Many will have previously eyed the current block of fixtures, five out of eight before the international break of which are at home, as a crunch period in the club's bid to keep within striking distance of the top six.
But the Rotherham game suddenly has a different kind of significance. The feel of the club has not been right for several weeks thanks largely to a shambolic January, and the Swans have a duty to right the wrongs of their Stoke showing, one that, rightly or wrongly, led to many fans raising serious doubts over the current coaching regime who have made mistakes of their own of late.
There has been no suggestion whatsoever from club insiders that Martin's job is under threat given the current run of form, but the head coach knows only too well that patience from above and the fan base won't last forever.
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