Roy Hodgson may have settled into the unsafest seat in football at Watford – but he could be their trump card in the relegation battle.
If the former England coach can plug the leaks of a defence who have forgotten how to keep a clean sheet, the Hornets have enough firepower to stay up.
And for a manager who has achieved so much, working in eight countries, speaking five languages and taking England to three major tournaments, it could be Hodgson's finest achievement yet if he keeps Watford up.
Yes, there is a question mark about what happens if they are adrift of the safety line after nine or 10 games. Would Watford dispose of Hodgson and make yet another change?
They have done four managers in a season before. It worked in 2014-15, because they won promotion to the Premier League, and it nearly worked in 2019-20, when they only went down on the last day of the season after needing snookers to stay up.
But I have a sneaking feeling Hodgson will keep them up.
For any club to get out of the bottom three, they need to score goals – and Watford the firepower to do it.
They have missed Ismaila Sarr – one point from eight games since he got injured, compared with 13 points from 12 games before he was crocked – because his sheer pace occupies defenders and creates gaps for others.
Between them Sarr, top scorer Emmanuel Dennis, Josh King and Joao Pedro should score enough goals to give Watford a fighting chance.
It's the other end of the pitch that's a worry – but Hodgson's experience, organisation and know-how will be a vital factor.
Watford are the only club in all four divisions without a clean sheet this season, and their last one in the Premier League was 30 games ago, on the day they ended Liverpool's 44-match unbeaten run with a startling 3-0 win at Vicarage Road.
Sooner or later, Hodgson will organise a clean sheet. And if it comes sooner, like his first game at Burnley next Saturday, it could be the catalyst they need.
Watford were hopeless against Norwich last week, but they are not in a hopeless position. Their predicament looked far more bleak when Pearson, the last Englishman to manage them, took over in December 2019, seven points adrift with just eight points from 15 games.
Pearson did a great job and led them out of the bottom three and they only slipped back below the dotted line in the last week after Project Restart.
It remains a complete mystery why Watford sacked him with only two games to go, but at least their relegation was short-lived and they bounced straight back.
Of their relegation rivals, Burnley will be resilient, but they have been weakened by the loss of Chris Wood to Newcastle.
Despite their audacious kidnap of Wood by activating his release clause, Newcastle still have a lot to do, It may be another month before Callum Wilson is fit enough to forge a double act up front with Wood.
And despite two wins in a row, I'm far from convinced that Norwich will score enough goals to stay up.
Everton, for all their problems, won't go down. Leeds won't go down. Brentford are dropping like a stone but have points on the board.
So the relegation equation still looks like three from four. And what a fantastic story it would be, to round off his career, if 74-year-old Hodgson plotted a great escape at Watford.
