The future of Dundalk FC remains in serious doubt despite the club receiving more time to find new owners and stave off the threat of liquidation.
There were very real concerns the Lilywhites would fold by 5pm on Monday evening unless a takeover could be agreed.
Current owner Brian Ainscough eased supporters' worst fears when he insisted that would not be case, and it's understood he is in talks with at least two interested parties.
However things remain on a knife edge, and the stakes are enormous.
With debts of over €1m, any deal is likely to involve the club entering the Small Company Administrative Rescue Process (SCARP), a 45-day salvage scheme established in 2021 for insolvent companies, similar to examinership. This would lead to debts being restructured and relegation to the First Division.
It'd be a bitter pill to swallow, but at least Dundalk would survive.
"Dundalk can't just go to the wall and come back as Dundalk 2.0," said former St Pat's, Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians goalkeeper Barry Murphy on this week's RTÉ Soccer Podcast.
"Those days are gone. They can't apply for a license for next year, the licences (application process) for next year is under way and the current entity (of Dundalk) is who has applied for that license. Dundalk have applied for that so they can't go back.
"As terrible as Kilkenny, Monaghan and some of the other clubs going out of the league is, this club is an institution. It's people's jobs, the heartbeat of a town. It has to be saved."
Dundalk dominated the league under Stephen Kenny. Even after he departed they made it to the group stages of the Europa League and won an FAI Cup (both in 2020).
Although they have great memories from those glory days, there's no tangible evidence of the achievements in terms of significant improvements to their Oriel Park ground.
"It wasn't too long ago that the narrative around Dundalk was almost around a worry that they were going to become this dominant force, like a Rosenborg where they'd be so dominant and almost have a monoploy within the league," said Paul Corry.
"To think about how different the narratvie is today is extremely worrying. It's gross mismanagement of finances within the club. You think of some of the players they've brought in, some of the wages they've spent, it's been a waste. There's no other way of putting it.
"You think of the money they would have taken in and the revenue they would have achieved from their Europa League campaigns and you look at the infrastructure of the club and it hasn't really changed.
"Yes they've had a situation whereby they've improved the training ground and certain elements around the whole training ground experience, but the stadium remains the same. The infrastructure around the club hasn't really changed, and the players who were taking big wages have come and gone. That's the really disappointing element."
Former Republic of Ireland international Méabh de Búrca said the issues must have been building for a long time, and aired her sympathy for the players, who are due to face Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds on Saturday not knowing for certain if the club will still in existence.
"It must be extremely hard to turn up to training and know this is going on in the background," she said.
"My day job is an accountant... this isn't something that happens overnight. There has to be serious questions over who is making the financial decisions there. It has to have been going down a slippery slope for months.
"They have to have projections, they have to have budgets, they have to have a cash flow. If they know €20,000 is going out a week on players' wages, that's not going to change.
"It's a sad situation. You would feel for the players in particular."
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