The question of who will be Manchester United's next permanent manager has been at the forefront of English football discourse ever since 10:30am on Sunday, November 21 - the moment the world officially learned that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had been sacked.
In the exhausting time between then and now, Ralf Rangnick has done his best to steady the ship, although choppy waters at Old Trafford have made things difficult.
While the acclaimed coach has done a somewhat decent job of improving the Red Devils' style of play - attempting to implement his Gegenpressing philosophy on a stubborn squad seemingly filled with as much talent as ego - results continue to make headlines for the wrong reasons.
Therefore, United continue to be linked with a number of names who could take up the hot seat come the end of the season.
While the likes of Luis Enrique and Carlo Ancelotti have been speculatively discussed, Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag stand out as the clear frontrunners.
But one alternative possibility will loom between now and May, as right back when we first heard from him on a chilly December morning in the Old Trafford media room, Rangnick declared that he could recommend himself to take the job on a permanent basis.
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Why? Well, the deal which the 63-year-old struck with Old Trafford chiefs to initially join the club included a two-year role as a consultant beyond this term.
The agreement suggested that, given his CV and coaching fingerprints across Europe, Rangnick would immediately be involved in selecting the next boss, akin to what he had done at RB Leipzig while working as the Bundesliga side's sporting director.
The German twice stood in as manager while the club awaited a successor; those coming in the form of current Southampton gaffer Ralph Hasenhuttl and young coaching prodigy Julian Nagelsmann, now in charge of behemoths Bayern Munich - two more names notably mentioned at Old Trafford, with Mirror Football understanding that Hasenhuttl is seriously under consideration.
In his aforementioned first press conference, Rangnick outlined that he rejected an interim opportunity at Chelsea last season because there was no further work was guaranteed, whereas the Red Devils were willing to bring him on board for the long haul.
"When Chelsea contacted me back in February, they only spoke about the option to become interim manager for four months, without any perspective to work in the long term together," he explained.
"Here now, we are talking about six-and-a-half months, so we only have one third of the games played in the Premier League.
"As you all know, we have also agreed upon a two-year advisory role as well, after those six-and-a-half months, in the end, when a club like Manchester United contact you, you can't possibly turn it down."
But his most telling comments came shortly after, directly addressing the hypothetical notion of staying on by adding: "I am, of course, fully aware they are looking for a new manager, maybe if they ask me, we will see.
"Maybe, if they ask me my opinion as you said and everything goes well and I help develop the team, I might make the same recommendation as I did at Leipzig twice and say to them for me to stay on and continue working with me!"
Numerous reports have suggested as much too, with The Sun saying that the search for a new manager was put on hold thanks to Rangnick's positive work behind the scenes.
More recently, last week in fact, Rangnick kept coy on whether he would prefer Pochettino or Ten Hag to replace him, hinting that his own future remains undecided as United battle for a top-four finish.
"So far, we've not spoken about that," he told Sky Sports ahead of Sunday's derby humiliation at the hands of Manchester City, losing 4-1 thanks to a second-half capitulation.
"Not with [football director] John Murtough or anyone else, we've not spoken about this topic over the last weeks and months since I've been here. I know my opinion but so far we've not spoken about that so it's all I can tell you."
And on Ten Hag's potential arrival, Rangnick admitted: "I don't know him to start with as a person, but I've seen how Ajax have developed since he's been there.
"I know about the work he did while he was at Bayern Munich and it's obvious he's one of the top coaches in Europe but there are a few others.
"We've not spoken about any new manager so far and therefore we've not spoken about him."
While performances would suggest that Rangnick's time in the dugout will be up once this campaign is done and dusted - with club legend Gary Neville even going as far as to declare that he will "categorically" not be handed the keys full-time - appointing Rangnick has its positives.
Pochettino is already employed at Paris Saint-Germain, just as Ten Hag is at Ajax.
And although money may not be an obstacle regarding compensation fees, the task of prising either primary candidate away from their current employer could prove difficult - the same as trying to get Enrique out of taking Spain to a World Cup or Ancelotti to pack his bags at Real Madrid.
Supporters are demanding a shake-up at the club but the blame has largely been spread in every other direction to where Rangnick stands and where he could stay, the Old Trafford dugout.
