Sabri Lamouchi is set to meet owner Vincent Tan tomorrow to discuss his and Cardiff City's future as he insists the club must make moves this summer to stave off a relegation fight next season.
The Bluebirds limped to a 3-0 defeat against Burnley in their final game of the season and the gulf in class was clear, with the Clarets set for Premier League football again.
Twenty places separated the two teams at the end of the match, but it felt like two or three divisions, in truth. That gap must be bridged if next season is to be different to this one and Lamouchi concurs.
"We can just be happy because we did the job before so we could play this game here against the (Championship) winners," the manager said after the match.
"It's always difficult to play here, more when they are the winners of the league. We saw today, the big gap between them and us. We have to just enjoy that we have stayed up. Job done. I saw the players were disappointed.
"We made some mistakes but the gap is too big between the two teams. We have to work for next season from now.
"The mission was to stay up. We will play in the Championship next season. To come here and control the game against the (league) winners, come on... we have to take time to enjoy our vacation.
"But the staff, the management, the club have to take time to sit and realise what we missed this year and what we need for the future."
When asked when the meeting would take place and whether it was a concern that pre-season plans and transfer strategy hadn't been rubber-stamped yet, he added: "This week, as soon as possible. Tomorrow. I am on vacation now and I'm going home. I am ready to meet my chairman, my owner, when they want.
"My home is Cardiff or London, so I'm here still.
"I started to work on the pre-season camp, about transfers, about friendly games. I want to be professional until the end, even if they change or want another manager.
"My job is to be professional until the end. Today was the end, job done. We are in the Championship next season, so what next? I know what I would like to do, so now I need to meet the owner and the chairman.
"I think the plan is to meet all together tomorrow."
Lamouchi said he was keen to build a "project" in south Wales, reiterating that it was not good enough for a club the size of Cardiff to be scrapping near the foot of the table year after year.
We understand that Lamouchi has already started transfer planning and does indeed have a number of ideal signings in mind, which he will detail to Tan tomorrow. However, perhaps understandably, he refused to tell the press after the game, insisting that information was for the ears of Tan and chairman Mehmet Dalman.
When asked what Cardiff needed in order for them to be a force again next season, Lamouchi said: "We just need a little creativity. With the embargo, we cannot pay, we cannot buy. We just need a little bit of creativity and the project to be clear.
"We started the game not so badly, just small mistakes, bad control at a bad time. We shot seven times before their first goal and missed the target six times. It's very simple. The quality and the gap between them and us. But they came from the Premier League, don't forget that, the gap is so huge between the two clubs and squad.
"I have respect from our fans who came from far to support us again. Even for them and for the club to be in a different position next season. Cardiff cannot play with relegation like we did. We were so close to failing.
"So now, next, I want to know, we want to know and we will know soon."
Cardiff are, of course, under a transfer embargo, meaning City cannot pay a fee and will have to be smart in order to attract players of the requisite quality in the summer.
It means Lamouchi will have to look further afield, on the continent and elsewhere.
"We have friends. We have a network," he said when asked what the transfer strategy might look like.
"Cardiff is an attractive place, it's a big name in UK football and in Wales. We just need to take the right players with the right mentality to understand our plan, to try and play for something different other than relegation."
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