Unless England actually repeat their performance of 2018 or manage to win the World Cup the likelihood is that the FA will find themselves under pressure to bring in a new manager.
In the direct aftermath of England's 4-0 thrashing against Hungary in Wolverhampton, after Gareth Southgate was hit with a barrage of negativity, FA chiefs moved quickly to protect their man. A swift PR move saw Southgate face up to national journalists in a vacant executive lounge down the corridors of Molineux where he pledged to fight on.
In fairness to Southgate calls for him to go didn't take long after leading England to their best performance in major tournament since 1966 only last summer. The summer's UEFA Nations League was poor but still contained respectable results and performances away to Germany and at home to Italy with two draws on the board.
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It's the performances against a Hungary side ranked 40th by FIFA that have resulted in some alarm bells ringing. But remember, Southgate is contracted until 2024 with the FA, meaning England see him as the man for not just the World Cup but also the next Euros.
While the boos were vicious and loud after Hungary, was Molineux after a Nations League game on the back of a long hard season a real barometer of public feeling? It's difficult to say but easy to shout for a new manager after a heavy defeat like that against one of the so called smaller sides in world football.
The FA certainly aren't making any knee-jerk reactions on Southgate. The powers that be in English football remain firmly behind him which means talk on replacements can be parked, probably for the rest of the year unless something genuinely dramatic changes.
A crunch home game against Germany in September at a packed Wembley though? That could offer different opinions from the terraces in England's penultimate Nations League encounter.
With just one more game for England to prepare before the World Cup in Qatar - against Italy at the San Siro - surely Southgate can't be properly judged until this winter's finals in the Middle East? After that, fans and the FA will be much better informed on where this England team is going.
Southgate himself deserves respect after what he achieved in 2018 and at Euro 2020 after hoisting England up from poor tournaments in 2016, with even a defeat to Hungary a million miles away from losing to Iceland, and 2014 when the Three Lions were on the first plane home.
But that didn't stop talk of a new England manager this week with a list of names and odds quickly distributed on the back of the Hungary debacle. It's worth noting that the biggest warnings of a knee-jerk reaction actually came from opposing managers.
Hungary boss Marco Rossi told a packed Press conference after the game: "It's a miracle that we are top of the group and it will be a miracle if we stay there. "England are one of the best teams in the world." While Roberto Mancini said: "England are one of the best teams in Europe still. "Maybe tonight they were trying to do different things, but they are a candidate to win the World Cup in Qatar".
When the list of odds dropped on sports desks around the country, they contained Newcastle boss Eddie Howe as second favourite. Howe has been sensational at Newcastle but if Southgate did leave, he'd be regarded as perfect for the FA.
Having guided Bournemouth from the lower leagues to the top division of English football, and doing it in a way that has entertained the country with huge wins over sides like Liverpool and Chelsea, Howe is understandably a strong candidate. That might not be an issue Newcastle have to fend off at all if England do well at the World Cup.
Howe for England certainly isn't a subject that has been dreamed up either. A quick Google search delivers dozens of positive articles arguing the case for Howe to one day be England boss.
Howard Wilkinson, who was on the FA's panel to decide the next boss in 2016, once said: "I'm sure Eddie's time will come. Foreign managers were considered but what was taken into account was what is the way forward."
Yet Howe remains contracted and committed to Newcastle going into another big campaign on Tyneside. This is the season that staff behind the scenes will get their chance to really put their stamp on things at St James' Park.
For the majority of last term Newcastle were in recovery mode and fending off the threat of the drop. That Howe and his backroom staff led United to 11th after rewriting history is - whether we like it or not - worthy of the Toon boss being spoken about as England manager.
Howe becomes the first Newcastle boss to be spoken seriously as an England candidate since Kevin Keegan and Sir Bobby Robson. Keegan's name was always in the headlines in the early 1990s but ended up signing a long deal with the Magpies.
Of course, he did end up in the England job but only after his exit at United in 1997 after a stint at Fulham. Sir Bobby was wanted as England boss for a second time in 2000 after Keegan left but Freddy Shepherd blocked such a move and he stayed on at St James' Park.
Howe's stock is already high after a great first season at Newcastle in which he got almost everything right amid a pressurised backdrop. The challenge for the new season will be to move into the top 10 but work will still need to be done in the transfer market.
Howe won't have England in his thoughts either. He will be simply focusing on the task in hand at Newcastle and he will let everything else tick by outside of the United camp.
The fact of the matter is, it's been a long time since Newcastle could boast a boss that was thought of as "England material". But the reality is the FA's faith in Southgate means the discussion isn't going anywhere at this moment in time, despite a bad week in the office for the ex-Middlesbrough boss.
Even two Nations League defeats in the autumn won't dislodge Southgate for the World Cup. And he will get the chance to erase those painful memories of what happened in Wolverhampton in the week that was.
