Reports have emerged following Leeds United's latest defeat that Marcelo Bielsa's tenure as Whites boss may be coming to an end.
The Argentine coach remained headstrong in his post-match press conference as he spoke to the media, offering no indication that he was considering walking away from his post in light of recent form.
Leeds have conceded 60 goals in the Premier League this season - more than any other team, and already six more than last season with 12 matches remaining.
Tottenham Hotspur's fourth goal at Elland Road on Saturday afternoon was the 20th Leeds have conceded during the month of February - a Premier League record for a single month.
As Bielsa's position appears to be under consideration, it is worth bearing in mind that any parting of ways will be a messy affair, requiring extensive clean-up at the worst possible time for the club.
Leeds are battling with the prospect of being dragged head first into a relegation scrap, with a return to the Championship just two years after promotion back to the top flight nothing short of a catastrophe for the club's long-term ambitions.
A potential sale to minority shareholders 49ers Enterprises is reportedly in the pipeline before January 2024, however any agreement will be contingent on Leeds' Premier League status.
Currently, the team's position compromises chairman Andrea Radrizzani's ability to provide assurances that Leeds remains a sound investment on stable Premier League footing.
Secondly, Marcelo Bielsa has instilled a philosophy and style of play at Elland Road that a new manager will discover requires an extensive tuning out process.
The team have played the same, specific way for three-and-a-half seasons, while many players will be loyal to the 66-year-old given the fact he has elevated a squad previously capable only of a mid-table Championship finish, to the top half of the Premier League.
Moments such as Stuart Dallas' winner at the Etihad Stadium last season or Kalvin Phillips' importance in England's run to the 2020 European Championships Final would have been unfathomable without Bielsa.
With a mere 12 matches until the end of the season, some members of the squad may feel Bielsa has earned the right to coach his way out of the team's current predicament.
That is a sentiment which will most likely be shared among the fanbase, too.
Football supporters are rarely in agreement on much but over the past three-and-a-half seasons, Leeds have been united behind one man.
Bielsa repaired a disaffected fanbase which, despite heavy defeats to Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur this season, still stands by him.
Sentiment aside, though, and a Bielsa departure also has financial complications. The Leeds United backroom team are effectively funded by Bielsa's salary, meaning an entirely new regime would need to be installed before the Whites' next fixture away to Leicester City.
"His departure will be complicated for Leeds to manage, given that he has a complex contract and pays his own backroom staff, meaning the club must yet work out how to pay them off," report The Athletic.
Last of all, supporters will not take kindly to an enforced Bielsa exit, not after the arduous task he achieved in restoring Leeds back amongst the top flight.
There is no guarantee a new figurehead will be able to steer the Whites clear of danger, or prevent relegation, and many supporters would prefer to retain the 66-year-old rather than experimenting with a new face, new staff and diminishing fixtures to implement a marked change.
