Cardiff City wind up a tortuous 2022-23 campaign away to champions Burnley on Bank Holiday Monday, but already the fans are looking ahead to next season.
Will the Bluebirds struggle near the foot of the Championship once again, or will they, as chairman Mehmet Dalman wants, put together a team capable of pushing for the top six?
A second successive massive summer rebuild looks on the cards, there could even be 10 or more players leaving and six to eight quality performers coming in.
Whatever, Cardiff appear to have a better base to work from than they did this time last year and there are reasons to be optimistic.
Here are some of them...
A better base to work from
Twelve months ago the Bluebirds landscape was dominated by talk of a raft of senior players going on free transfers - Marlon Pack, Leo Bacuna, Aden Flint, Will Vaulks, Josh Murphy, Alex Smithies and Isaac Vassell among them - plus others on contracts who looked unlikely to figure.
And, of course, the will he, won't he saga that was Gareth Bale, who negotiated hard with his home-town club but in the end opted for America.
Cardiff fans quite understandably wanted Bale to come, but they also wanted a number of the senior players moved on and the squad reshaped under Steve Morison.
The rookie boss brought in 17 new players. While Sabri Lamouchi, or whoever is manager of Cardiff, won't be looking for anything like that number of incomings, there is wheeling and dealing to be done.
Cardiff's problem is that Morison handed a number of players two-year deals, thus they are still under contract. But they aren't any more on the bumper wages the Bluebirds used to pay, so there may be greater opportunity there for manouevere with other clubs as Lamouchi looks to bring his own men in.
One way or the other, the wage bill will still need to be balanced.
The defence is good
Whether Cardiff stick with five at the back, or opt for Lamouchi's preferred option of a flat back four, the defence looks like a decent foundation from which the team can build next season.
While it was questionable for Morison to send Mark McGuinness out on loan, his spell with Sheffield Wednesday definitely improved him as a player and he has returned as something of a defensive colossus who time and again bailed the team out of trouble.
If the Bluebirds can persuade Cedric Kipre to return, and he has loved his year on loan from West Brom, his centre-back partnership with McGuinness will be among the better pairings in the division.
Player of the year Perry Ng and Mahon Romeo are highly capable right-backs, with Ng also able to play in a middle three, while Callum O'Dowda, the returning Jamilu Collins and Joel Bagan, should he receive a new contract, offer options on the left. Cardiff are also being linked with Fulham's Joe Bryan, although face stiff competition from a number of rivals.
What happens with the goalkeeping situation remains to be seen, but once a centre-half comes in, be that Kipre or another dominant figure, the defenders look sound.
Remember Robbo's still there
Had Callum Robinson remained fit Cardiff would almost certainly have retained their Championship status earlier than they actually did.
But amid Sory Kaba, Connor Wickham and Kion Etete battling it out for the forward places, Robbo is almost like a forgotten man.
He's still there though, under contract, and will be fit again for the 2023-24 kick-off.
Robinson is a class act, scores goals, creates, has pace and runs in behind defences, which is something Cardiff have been sorely lacking.
He undoubtedly strengthens the side when there.
Collins and Adams like new signings
We saw way too little of left-back Jamilu Collins before his season was cruelly ended by a knee injury in August.
Clearly three and a bit games is too early to judge. But in those matches, Norwich, Reading, Birmingham and West Brom, Cardiff kept three clean sheets and the Nigerian international looked a class act.
Defensively and offensively. Pace to burn, swashbuckling going forward, tough in the tackle.
There wasn't too much not to like about him, even if Morison's assertion that Collins was the best left-back in the league might have been a teeny bit over the top.
His return after a year out will be like a new signing for Cardiff, as will that of Ebou Adams, who hasn't even kicked a ball for the club after a horror injury of his own.
Look, the jury has to be out on a midfielder who in his 28th year has never played above League Two level and has Forest Green, Leyton Orient, Shrewsbury, Ebbsfleet and Braintree as the clubs he has played for on his CV.
But Lamouchi knows Cardiff's engine room needs to be looked at. One way or the other, the Bluebirds have to bring in a couple of class acts who can help dominate games, get the side on the front foot, create, score and run beyond the front man to stretch defences.
Adams hopefully can supplement that mix.
Colwill can kick on
You can argue that of the many questionable decisions made this season, the treatment of Rubin Colwill by successive managers was as bad as any.
This most gifted of home-grown stars was barely used. When he was, it was by and large shunted out wide rather than as No.10 playmaker, or for a few minutes here and there.
Rightly or wrongly, many Cardiff fans find it baffling that Sheyi Ojo, and others, are chosen ahead of Colwill.
Clearly there have been issues with the 20-year-old's growing pains. His lack of match sharpness has also come across, albeit that's chicken and the egg because if he's not being picked, how can he get up to game speed?
What remains indisputable is Colwill's talent. In 17 minutes against Huddersfield he almost turned around a two-goal deficit Cardiff's way, showing for the ball, going past players and trying to actually score goals by shooting.
Cardiff have to give Colwill more of a chance. In return, Colwill needs to deliver on a more regular basis.
If he can perform consistently to the levels produced in the closing moments against Huddersfield, he will be among the best players in the Championship and could one day net the Bluebirds a fortune in the transfer market.
Whoever is manager next season, Cardiff need to make far greater use of the mercurial ability of one of their own.
Lamouchi is a 'proper' manager
The use of the word 'proper' in inverted commas is because that's what some senior figures at Cardiff say about Sabri Lamouchi.
So do many fans, who have seen rookies Steve Morison, Mark Hudson and Dean Whitehead in charge of the side, and prior to that Neil Harris, for whom many felt the job was too big.
Lamouchi has greater pedigree, having managed Ivory Coast in the World Cup and pushed for the top six with Nottingham Forest. His playing background is pretty decent too - a France World Cup squad winner, as well as Inter Milan and Marseille among his clubs.
Managing Cardiff City is a big job. The scrutiny and media attention is intense. The Bluebirds get far more headlines and broadcast time than most clubs in the Championship. You need a big character in charge.
Lamouchi looks to have the credentials to be a more than capable Bluebirds boss, in the mould of Neil Warnock and Malky Mackay, and Cardiff's prospects of a decent 2023-24 season will surely be enhanced if they can tie Lamouchi down to a new deal?
You also sense this season has been one of pragmatism for Lamouchi. He worked with the cards dealt to him and that meant a route one approach to matches.
Lamouchi will want to spend the summer bringing in his own players and evolving a more entertaining style of play. Expect that to be on the agenda when he meets with owner Vincent Tan next week.
The fans
The patience of Cardiff's passionate supporters has been tested to the full in recent times. Questions are being raised about how many will renew season tickets.
But Cardiff's support tends to be pretty good.
There were close on 27,000 inside the ground for Sunday's clash with lowly Huddersfield, a meaningless fixture, so to speak, for the Bluebirds.
On Monday they will be taking close on 2,000 fans up to Burnley. There were around 1,000 who travelled to Rotherham for a Thursday night match.
Despite a truly woeful season, four different managers, hardly any goals, just six home wins in 23 games, Cardiff have still recorded the 10th highest average home attendance in the Championship this season. Were they to actually be successful, that figure would fly to much nearer the top.
This remains a football club with enormous potential.
The fans remain the best thing about Cardiff City FC. The loyalty of so many is unwavering, despite trying times.
Some clever summer wheeling and dealing by Lamouchi, with a number of exciting new signings, would change the mindset - and offer hope again for next year.
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