In his pre-match press conference at Cobham on Monday afternoon, ahead of Chelsea's encounter with Middlesbrough, Mauricio Pochettino will have many thoughts in his mind.
There will be a part of him focused on the game taking place the following evening – a Carabao Cup semi-final second leg, in which the Blues currently trail 1-0 on aggregate after a damning defeat at the Riverside Stadium a fortnight ago.
That's the part which will be projected externally to the awaiting media. Clichés will no doubt be plentiful, if somewhat hollow in meaning, and the quotes pieces written up will reference his 'challenge' to his players to 'prove what they are worth'.
The Argentine head coach is an experienced communicator and, for all the criticism he may face for supposedly bland and meaningless statements, is a safe pair of hands as far as outward displays of emotion go (something which, incidentally, will prove helpful for him should his position be under threat).
Another part of him will be concerned about the lack of preparation time after the fixture on Tuesday night, with Chelsea back in action again less than 72 hours later, once more at home, once more in a knockout competition as they welcome Aston Villa in the FA Cup.
A far harder test, that if it weren't for the external noise around almost every other aspect of the club currently, would likely be generating greater complaints from Pochettino surrounding scheduling and the need for recovery time.
But there will also be a part of him which will think forwards to the weekend. Just five days after he faces questions from the media at the Blues' training ground, it is uncertain to almost everybody, most of all him, what the climate around the west London side will be.
Proof of progress
There have been other significant moments already this season: the win on penalties against Newcastle United in December could easily have seen fans turn against the manager in spiteful fashion, with the 51-year-old already on a tight leash as far as support goes, given his previous connection to north London.
That's not to say many haven't already lost faith – the defeat at Boro saw the away support express their anger to the few Chelsea players who bothered to go over to the visitors' section after the loss. Pochettino's subsequent insistence that the supporters weren't directing their frustration at him or the team, and rather a dispute with the home crowd, didn't do him any favours in regards to his popularity either.
Four players out of the entire squad going over to apologise to the away fans.
— Noah Robson (@noahrobson_) January 9, 2024
Says a lot. pic.twitter.com/bgxbK6LQUo
The victory over Fulham prior to the brief winter break that Chelsea have enjoyed prevented what could well have been a spiralling meltdown over the preceding 10 days, even if reports suggest that the head coach's future is in no doubt.
For those who cannot believe that the hierarchy would sack someone they previously claimed to be part of a long-term project, it is not difficult to find a counterexample in Graham Potter's departure last April to make plain the emptiness behind such promises.
Chelsea's Premier League form after 21 games sees them just a single point better off than where they were this time last year, with inconsistency seemingly condemning them to at best a Europa Conference League finish, and at worse a repeat of the 12th place seen in 2022/23.
Either way, it is difficult to see how supporters could be convinced that Pochettino is the right man for the job, even with the caveat of a 'project' being in place, unless there is some other evidence to show for it.
With the club not in any European football this season, the only hope of such proof of being on the right track comes in the form of a domestic cup competition.
Admittedly, it is perhaps naïve to suggest that a Carabao Cup win should be convincing enough to paper over the cracks of what is clearly a shoddily put together team, but regardless of whether it is a genuine sign of improvement or not, the boost it would do to morale is undeniable.
Chelsea are a club used to winning trophies. Barely a year used to go by without them picking up some form of silverware, and if it wasn't one of the top prizes, the chance to visit Wembley and add another piece to the trophy cabinet always allowed supporters to find optimism, even if the league offered little hope.
And so, if Pochettino were able to get his hands on either the FA Cup or the Carabao Cup, it would go a long way to convincing fans (if not the board too) that there is potential of a brighter future ahead.
Two tricky tests
The problem for him is that, amidst a period in which he is on thin ice as far as confidence amongst supporters is concerned, his chances of leading Chelsea to those trophies both rest on games within three days of one another.
That is made all the more worse by the fact what should have been a mere procession to the final – a two-legged tie against Championship opposition – has been turned into a challenge with stakes far higher than Pochettino would have liked on it.
Home advantage will offer some comfort and the overwhelming likelihood still remains that the Blues will progress into February's final, with talk of a potential upset never going beyond words. But the presence of tens of thousands who will not be forgiving of anything less than progression equally contributes to the assessment that west London could be an extremely toxic place at the final whistle.
That would leave Chelsea in even more of a tense dilemma, with the pressure riding on Friday night's game, against an Aston Villa who have shown themselves to be incredibly tough to beat this season, amplifying by several orders of magnitude.
Following failure three days prior, it doesn't take much imagination to picture the atmosphere against Unai Emery's side, and going behind in that match could well spell the end of Pochettino's hopes of ever getting the home support on side, even if he somehow retains the backing of the owners.
A win in either would probably see him retain just enough confidence in the fanbase to last a little longer, although a loss in the first match would unquestionably be of greater concern, though in truth to have any confidence going into a tough game away at Liverpool it will need to be two victories from two.
Of course, even if Chelsea do progress to the next stage of both, there is no guarantee of trophy success yet. The FA Cup has plenty of rounds still to go, and whilst in a final anything can happen, if the other Carabao Cup semi-final sees Liverpool head to Wembley (as seems probable), Blues' supporters won't need reminding of their experiences in recent times against the Reds in cup finals.
Discussions over the practical implications for Pochettino of the next two games remain open to interpretation, as there is no way of being certain about the reaction of Todd Boehly and others would have to whatever combination of results may arise.
But as far as fan backing goes, it now seems inevitable that trust in the former Tottenham head coach rests solely on the upcoming five days, in which Chelsea look to salvage something from what has been a second successive disappointing campaign.
If they can't, regardless of the club hierarchy's reaction, Pochettino will be as good as gone in the eyes of supporters.