Even by Finn Harps normal standards - "and normal is bad for us" - the recent off-season was marked by exodus and upheaval.
And much scrimping and scraping to get in a fit state for the starting post in 2022.
Resources are famously stretched in Ballybofey and Harps, in Ollie Horgan's estimation, typically lose about four or five of their key players from season to season.
After 2021, where the club secured eighth spot, successfully dodging the play-offs, the outflow was even more severe.
They've had to replace no fewer than 11 members from the 2021 squad.
"On and off the pitch, we've lost individuals who'll be very difficult to replace," Horgan told RTÉ Sport at the SSE Airtricity League launch in Dublin.
"And there's only one way of finding out and that'll be in the next month or two. We've always lost a couple and replaced them. Now we've lost 11.
"Probably if Shamrock Rovers lost 11, they may not maintain the position they're in. We have to maintain our position, as in eighth position, to try to survive.
"We've had battles over the years, this without doubt will be the biggest of the lot."
In the past, Horgan has been quick to paint his team as obvious relegation fodder. In 2022, as in previous years, when it comes to considering who might go down, the Finn Harps manager finds it hard to look beyond his own team.
Horgan is known not to belong to the Ally McLeod school of management/ sports psychology.
He has brought his own particularly extreme brand of west of Ireland pessimism to the top tier of Irish football and - despite his own doom-laden predictions at the beginning of every season - has somehow succeeded in keeping it there. (When it was suggested once, after a quick start to the season, that Harps could even start thinking about getting into Europe, Horgan would only allow that they might get as far as Lourdes.)
"Ah, every game is apprehensive. We're probably the only easy game in the division to other teams.
"Well, you've got to understand that we've taken in players that nobody wanted last year. And all of a sudden, they've done well and they move on. And while we can't complain about any of them getting a better contract in other places, it's hard going.
"But you've got to go again. If we lose 11 of this group at the end of next year, we've done well. It's not an easy task from anyone's point of view.
"I'm not moaning, I'm not complaining. I didn't have to be here and I didn't have to continue. But it's kind of harder to get out of it than get into it! That's the long and the short of it, lads."
Of last season's squad, Tunde Owolabi was snapped up by St Pat's, Shane McEleney joined the swelling ranks at nearby Derry City, Karl O'Sullivan headed south to Sligo Rovers, while Sean Boyd, Mark Coyle and Daniel Hawkins all joined Damien Duff at Shelbourne.
Will Seymore, Jordan Mustoe and Kosovar Sidiki all departed for clubs in America, Belgium and Italy's Serie C respectively.
With Finn Harps perennially strapped, Horgan acknowledges they cannot compete with rival clubs in a league where wages are tipping upwards once more.
"I think it's gone beyond just 100 quid a week. There seems to be money back in the league. Fair play to the clubs that are able to do that. We wouldn't be able to afford that. We've different targets.
"We tend to take in lads that maybe have lost their way a little bit and give them an opportunity. And that's probably why we lost as many as we lost.
"There was no player that was asked to leave, they were all asked to stay. It was not like that we felt we could get better, we were very happy with the level that were there. But they've obviously got better contracts in different clubs, both at home and abroad.
"There's no criticism of any of those 11 that have moved on. We're delighted to have helped them on their way. But it obviously is a kick in the teeth at times, and that's the reality. You help people along the way and that's part of the deal."
"I'm not moaning, I'm not complaining. I didn't have to be here and I didn't have to continue. But it's kind of harder to get out of it than get into it!
How does Horgan go about re-building his squad after being gutted in the off-season?
"How do we do it? (laughs) Ah, a lot of phone calls, a lot of travelling," says Horgan. "And a couple of good people out there that help you out for the good of the player, as opposed to any financial gain for themselves.
"But there are risks involved. You go and see the player play in person and it's really only then you see what kind of player they are.
"And then you're taking a gamble on the personality of the players. You don't get to know that and you don't find out until you're well into the season in the heat of the battle.
"But we're glad to have attracted what we've attracted. Time will tell whether it's going to be good enough to survive or not."
Unable to find value for money in Ireland, Harps efforts to source affordable replacements have taken them to some far flung parts of the continent. Finn Harps 2022 model will have a distinctively international flavour.
Pitching up in Ballybofey this winter are Spaniard Jose Carillo, signed from Slovakian outfit Senica, while Dutch-born Erol Erdal Alkan becomes the first Turkish-qualified footballer to play in the League of Ireland.
Most intriguingly, they've signed much-travelled 29-year-old Croatian striker Filip Mihaljevic, playing him as a triallist under an assumed name in Limerick last month.
Mihaljevic's career has thus far taken him from his native Croatia to Bosnia & Herzegovnia, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Poland, Italy and now Donegal.
Another import arrived late last week, French midfielder Elie-Gael N'Zeyi Kibonge, who most recently played for Pohronie in Slovakia's Fortuna Liga.
Closer to home, Yoyo Mahady has joined from Shelbourne, Regan Donelon has been drafted in from Sligo, while Mayo striker Jesse Devers re-joins the club after spells at Sligo and latterly Ballina Town. Bastien Hery, capped for Madagascar, is another international player on board, though the Frenchman is a League of Ireland stalwart at this stage.
What's the furthest that Horgan travelled to get hold of a player?
"My wife doesn't know and I have no intention of telling the public. But I have travelled... Obviously after the virus! Is this the customs?
"Because of the restrictions, you have also gambled on one or two that you wouldn't have seen in person. So it wasn't as in other years when there were no restrictions on travel.
"But we have no choice. We couldn't get value for money within the country for what we wanted. And we're not the only ones in that bracket."
In particular, Harps avail of showcase matches comprised of free agents, though even in those circumstances, contractual issues can be tricky.
"Some of them are showcase matches where the players are out of contract and you have a choice of what was playing. But funnily enough, when you offer contracts, it can not be that simple even though they know what they're going into.
"The personalities of them, only time will tell how they adapt to the weather, the pitches and above all, the very high standard of football that's in our league.
"But we've no other choice, it's either that or we certainly won't be in it (Premier) in 12 months' time. At least, this gives us a fighting chance but it's only a fighting chance."
