Nigel Pearson's team selections over the next matter of weeks will paint a picture over who he expects to be at the club going into next season.
The manager has already appeared to lose patience with a number of players in his squad having walked a risky tightrope by continuously calling out certain individuals for errors following a string of bad results.
The breaking point appeared to come after the Swansea match in February when he fumed after his side threw away a 1-0 half-time lead to lose 3-1.
Sending a warning to his players at full-time, he said: "Maybe we’ve got players in our squad at the moment that have got until now and the end of the season to prove whether they’re good enough to be here next year whether I’m the manager or anybody else."
Following another defeat at home to Birmingham, the club's third consecutive loss to leave them 19th in the Championship, Pearson was asked whether Danny Simpson had any future at the club and the manager unsurprisingly said he wasn't in his plans.
That revelation was far from groundbreaking, with the player starting just two league matches this season and making four appearances in total.
His next comment did raise eyebrows, however, by adding: "I’m looking at who’s going to be here next year. I don’t intend on making short-term decisions for us at the moment. I make decisions which I think are right to the team and that’s whether players are included or not in the matchday squad or whether they start or don’t start."
Less than 48 hours later, City announced Simpson had departed the club having had his contract mutually terminated with Pearson obviously eager not to waste any time in offloading the players that are not in his thinking for the rest of the season and beyond, and one can be sure Simpson isn't the only name who could be heading for the Ashton Gate exit door sooner rather than later.
Robbie Cundy
Against Birmingham on Saturday, Pearson welcomed back Rob Atkinson to his squad following an injury picked up in the 3-2 win over Cardiff on January 22.
His return to the bench meant one player was forced to miss out with Robbie Cundy the unlucky victim in Pearson's selection dilemma.
That may come as a surprise to some following his decent 45-minute cameo against Nottingham Forest in the prior fixture but his absence certainly raised an ominous question about his long-term future at Ashton Gate.
Perhaps he was carrying a knock, although Pearson failed to mention it in his pre-match press conference, but the fact that he still hasn't started a fixture and his contract expiring in the summer suggests his time in Bristol is coming to a rather uneventful end.
Pearson has had opportunities to play the former Oxford centre-back, particularly to help stop the rot of City's poor defensive record, but he has opted not to hand him an opportunity to stake his place in the side.
In Cundy's defence, his progress in the first half of the season was riddled with knee injuries having been forced to wait until the turn of the New Year to earn his first competitive minutes in an Under-23 fixture.
If the club opts against offering Timm Klose an extension to his deal, which expires in the summer, Cundy may be offered a contract to bolster numbers at the back but at the moment, it's looking unlikely.
Zak Vyner
Zak Vyner is another player who looks to be a casualty of Pearson's decision not to look into the short-term. Unlike Cundy, the right-back has had his opportunity to make that spot his own but failed to grasp it.
The defeat at Swansea looked to be the last-chance saloon for the 24-year-old. It was his hesitation that allowed Michael Obafemi to score the equaliser and he hasn't been seen on the pitch since.
He's made 21 Championship appearances in total with three of those resulting in clean sheets, against Preston, Stoke and Derby.
The manager's decision to play Sam Bell out of position at right wing-back in the past three home matches has possibly already condemned Vyner's future but to leave him out of the squad on Saturday altogether on Saturday painted a grim picture for the defender's outlook in BS3.
Pearson also made it abundantly clear he will look to sign wing-backs in the summer by saying: "I know where we need to strengthen moving forward. We don't have any wing-backs at the club."
George Tanner's impending return from injury will only push Vyner further down the pecking order leaving opportunities few and far between.
Callum O'Dowda
Callum O'Dowda is another whose time seems to be coming to an end with his contract expiring this summer with no sign that his deal will be extended into the following campaign.
The left wing-back had struggled for form before being taken off in the 3-1 defeat at Blackpool where Josh Bowler's impressive performance may have confirmed his fate.
He started on the bench in the following fixture against Reading and the substitute was then subbed off after playing just 19 minutes with injury - although his brief cameo left some supporters watching through their fingers as The Royals pushed for a last-gasp equaliser.
Just one goal and zero assists in 20 Championship appearances is nothing to shout from the rooftops about and with the wage bill requiring lowering to bring in new faces, O'Dowda's exit feels inevitable.
Nahki Wells
Bristol City may have let the Bermudan international leave in January had a permanent offer come in instead of a temporary move.
Cardiff made a late bid on deadline day but Pearson had no interest in letting him move to a league rival, especially on loan.
The fact of the matter is he hasn't started a league game since November with Pearson not wanting to disrupt the form of Chris Martin, Antoine Semenyo and Andi Weimann who have been among the positives in an underwhelming campaign.
He's also one of the club's top earners and taking him off the wage bill is surely one of the priorities of the summer with the cash-strapped club needing to tighten the purse strings.
City also have a couple of young strikers coming through in Tommy Conway and Sam Bell so do have some security should they decide to let him leave.
One factor that could keep him at Ashton Gate until the end of his deal in 2023 could rely on the futures of Martin and Semenyo.
Martin's deal expires this summer and he recently told the media how no talks over a new contract have got underway. Semenyo is also a wanted man with nine clubs eager to make a summer transfer including three Premier League sides.
Kasey Palmer
The midfielder is likely to be one of the names at the top of the transfer list when the market opens at the end of the season.
Just one league start during the campaign and five substitute appearances is a clear indication he has no part in the manager's plans.
He's currently sidelined with a knee injury which is likely to rule him out for the rest of the season – assuming he would also need a few weeks of U23 action to get back to any sort of match fitness.
On top of that, he also doesn't fit into Pearson's style of play as an out-and-out No10. City were happy to let him leave in January should a suitable offer have come in which never came to fruition.
This summer will also be the last opportunity for the club to earn a fee for his departure and every pound into the coffers will be gratefully received.
Andy King
Another player whose injuries have curtailed his season following his free transfer from Pearson's former club Leicester last summer.
At the age of 33 and with his contract expiring in the summer, his record this season suggests it wouldn't be feasible to hang onto him any longer.
Just 10 Championship starts with three injuries in particular throughout the campaign implies that his body may not be up to the physical demands of Championship football anymore.
He had a two-month injury lay-off from October until December and lasted three games until a hamstring injury picked up against Cardiff in January appears to have ruled him out for the rest of the season.
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