Andy Hinchcliffe fears Swansea City could "implode" in the summer if they do not transform their fortunes on and off the pitch.
The Swans held aspirations of challenging for a top six place in the Championship this season and reached as high as fourth place in late October after beating rivals Cardiff City 2-0 to make it seven wins from nine.
However, they have just won three times in 20 matches in all competitions since that success against the Bluebirds and are currently 15th in the league, 10 points adrift of the play-off spots.
It comes after Michael Obafemi was sold to Burnley in January while the club failed to sign a single player in the winter window, despite the squad being significantly weakened.
Others could also depart in the summer, with Russell Martin recently confirming that Ryan Manning is set to find a new club when his Swansea contract expires in June.
And pundit Hinchcliffe said Swansea need to avoid following in Huddersfield Town's footsteps given that the Terriers are now battling relegation having been in the Championship play-off final at Wembley last season.
"I remember speaking to you back in October when Swansea beat Cardiff and you asked me about a team that could threaten to finish in the play-offs," he said on Sky Sports. "I picked Swansea.
"Yes, they're a team that dominate the ball, but they started to find a cutting edge with (Joel) Piroe and Obafemi.
"Obafemi's gone to Burnley, Piroe got injured. Yes, they keep the ball a lot, but they've lost that cutting edge.
"What the Swansea fans are seeing now, yes, they keep the ball, pass it around and look attractive, but they're not sticking the ball in the back of the net so they slid down the league, so it is disappointing.
"They've got to be very careful because we've seen what's happened to Huddersfield after what happened last season, in a relegation battle. Swansea, if they lose Ryan Manning, there's talk of him going in the summer, Russell Martin, if he's not happy, that club could implode.
"They've got to be very careful that it doesn't get worse. They've got to sort it out quickly.
"I do feel they've lost a couple of key players and teams know what they're going to face when they play Swansea. You can set up a team plan to combat them.
"I just think the confidence has dipped because of performances, the crowd are on their back. It's not a good situation there. I just hope Russell stays, sees it through and the crowd get behind him."
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