After two years of battling to avoid relegation, Cardiff City can ill afford to go into the 2023/24 campaign on the back foot.
However, with the future of the Bluebirds coaching staff still uncertain, so many big decisions and considerations pertaining to the club's summer plans are stuck in limbo.
Cardiff have five senior players out of contract in June, with a number of academy players on the fringe of the first team in the same position.
It is also understood that the plan for pre-season is yet to be put into place. Pre-season is such an important part of planning for the campaign ahead and the destination or even personnel for this summer's boot camp are yet to be decided. A growing concern among some inside the club who want to start next year with a bang, rather than undercooked.
And, perhaps most importantly, transfer planning is on ice. After a huge summer overhaul 12 months ago, Cardiff are in need of adding yet more quality to their playing squad. While there were a number of shrewd acquisitions who proved to have positive impacts, the squad looked thin above that top layer of Championship quality and City were left plugging holes for a large chunk of the season.
When Sabri Lamouchi was asked in January if he achieved his goal of keeping Cardiff in the Championship, would he stay on as manager, his unequivocal response was: "Absolutely!"
Having heard from Lamouchi over the last week following the Rotherham United and Huddersfield Town matches, and from sources within the club, we are led to believe the Frenchman's stance has not changed.
At time of writing, though, there has been no formal offer tabled. However, it is understood that owner Vincent Tan is set to jet into London from Malaysia this weekend to conduct formal talks with the manager next week regarding the next steps.
Mehmet Dalman said at the weekend that Lamouchi was understanding and even accommodating regarding the club's partial EFL transfer embargo, which restricts them from paying a fee for players. Sources have also confirmed that to be the case in recent days.
Indeed, it is understood there are players already lined up to be brought in this summer on a free — and these are players who would immediately improve the starting XI — due to Lamouchi's contacts and the manager would like to act on those players if he is eventually tied down to a deal.
Players who play on these shores are usually sought after by a number of rivals, while the likes of Jamilu Collins and Sory Kaba, who came in from abroad, did so without much fanfare but immediately proved there is quality if the horizons are expanded. It is understood Lamouchi would tap into his continental contacts in order to acquire more quality if mandated to do so.
There will likely have to be concessions made when Lamouchi and Tan meet, however. The calibre of player Lamouchi, an undoubtedly ambitious manager, would want to bring in would likely exceed the fairly meagre player salary cap the club introduced a year ago as they attempted to lower running costs in the face of financial adversity.
But there are greater sins in this world than having an overly-ambitious manager, I would argue.
I would also proffer the school of thought that having a seventh manager in less than four years is hardly a recipe for success. Another manager in the dugout is the last thing City need.
There are arguments to the contrary, of course. Some point to Lamouchi, Mark Hudson and Steve Morison having broadly similar points-per-game ratios this season and that is true. Although it does not tell the whole picture.
This was not Lamouchi's squad; the two signings made shortly after his appointment were in the works before the Frenchman was appointed. Also, perhaps more importantly, he inherited a group of players whose confidence was through the floor, having not won a competitive football match in three months. The size of the task was greater than was perhaps billed when he took the reins.
Others also point to the style of football hardly being pleasing on the eye and that, too, is difficult to disprove. Although at that stage of the season, it was percentage football. It was taking minimal risks, trying to get the ball as far away from their own goal as possible and playing to their strengths with big, imposing strikers and bombing wing-backs.
It's not the style of football he has played elsewhere and he even admitted during his first press conference that it was about working with the tools he had and being pragmatic.
Quite what his plan for the young players and academy system, into which Cardiff have invested so heavily in recent years, does have a bit of a question mark hanging over it. With his sole focus being on first-team matters over the last few months, trying to get detailed answers over the progress of young players was tough going, but perhaps understandable. Expect that to be brought up in the meeting with Cardiff's owner, though.
Having spoken to sources close to the dressing room, the dynamic of having Lamouchi in charge as opposed to Hudson or Morison is also different. There is certainly more of a clearly-defined manager/player separation, which has been received well by many in the squad.
"He's been brilliant with me and the lads. Obviously I knew Sol (Bamba) well from before, but they've both come in and done the job. They've shown great enthusiasm to work, and have been brilliant on the training pitch," captain Joe Ralls said on Sunday. "Hopefully they can stay with us."
But a manager-type figure is what is needed to thrive at Cardiff. Think back to Dave Jones, Malky Mackay, Neil Warnock; big characters who are needed to manage the vastness of the club and its reach plus the often turbulent nature of it all, not to mention managing upwards with the owner and the board.
Coaches, for want of a better word, have tended not to succeed at Cardiff, for whatever reason. Big characters who are able to shoulder a weighty responsibility are needed and Lamouchi, at least in the few months we have seen him, seems unflustered by it all and is straight down the line whenever any question is asked of him.
For what it's worth, Dean Whitehead has also proved a welcome addition to this staff and sources have told WalesOnline they are grateful for just how conscious he is of fringe players and squad morale. While all fans know just how much Sol Bamba, a crucial cog in Lamouchi's wheel, brings to the club and the love he has for the fans. He just brings that extra morsel of connection between the supporters and the squad and that goes a long way.
Next season, expectations should be lowered. Whether Lamouchi or someone else in charge. It should be a season of stability, with the top six being a bonus, rather than a yardstick by which managers are measured in order to determine whether they are sacked or not. If Cardiff cannot fund a promotion-winning squad then they have to stop expecting promotion, it's really as simple as that.
That is not to say that next year cannot be a season which builds the foundations for a promotion push the year after, perhaps, but it's difficult for a manager to navigate through a period of poor results when the ambitions are unfairly high and are disproportionate to the investment which has been put into the squad.
But, who knows, Cardiff might spring a surprise. There is that perennial hope before every season: 'This is our year.' And it might be. But it should be a pleasant surprise rather than expectation in the club's current state. The realistic goal is for a top-half finish, with perhaps play-offs if recruitment is good, the manager can get a tune out of them and a bit of luck drops their way, too.
None of that is likely to happen, though, if Cardiff are caught on the hop. They cannot chip into the summer any more and must nail down their coaching staff and plan for next season. Their rivals are already making phone calls and are ready to pull the trigger on their own squad rebuilds for next season, so time is of the essence for Cardiff, with Lamouchi having just one more game, Burnley away on Monday, on his current deal.
Lamouchi has done enough to earn a shot at getting this right. He has said on more than one occasion he is happy to be at the club and for the vast majority of fans, the feeling is mutual. Get the deal sewn up and give him the time and tools, within reason, to make meaningful progress next season.
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