When Cork City returned to the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division for this season, there was quiet optimism that they could make an impact this season and avoid yo-yoing straight back down.
Much of their hopes rested on the firepower provided by strike duo Seani Maguire and Ruairi Keating.
However, after a solid opening few rounds, Cork were dealt a blow with Maguire ruled out for a number of weeks and Keating suffering a season-ending injury, one of many lay-offs that have impacted the squad in this campaign.
The club are now second from bottom in the Premier Division's relegation play-off spot, with only struggling Sligo Rovers three points behind them and eighth place and definitive safety increasingly further away on the horizon.
But now Cork City have to go in search of a new manager after manager Tim Clancy brought the curtain down on his 18-month tenure minutes after Friday's 2-1 defeat to Derry City at Turner's Cross.
"The decision to leave is mine and mine alone," the former Drogheda United and St Patrick's Athletic boss said.
The Meathman, who had guided them to top flight promotion last year, later outlined some of the challenges he had faced in comments to The Echo newspaper, including his former assistant Jamie Hamill's return to Scotland for family reasons, the strain of juggling the demands of the management role along with personal considerations and a seemingly never-ending injury list.
But as the club go in search of a new manager, how should they approach the next few weeks and months which look set to simply be a battle for survival.
Speaking on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast, former UCD, Shamrock Rovers and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Paul Corry said a back to basics approach was their best foot forward, especially in light of the way Waterford have rebounded from a dire run of form recently.
"Getting the balance between expectations and budgets is probably important here," he said.
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"Cork have only just been promoted and yes, they've put probably great resource into getting the likes of Seani and Keating into the building.
"But being realistic here, solidifying their position within the Premier Division has to be the goal of this season.
"Already, you can see that it feels almost like it's Sligo, Cork and then the rest and the situation of Waterford picking points probably doesn't help anybody at Cork because you can see what a change has done for that team, for that club as a whole and the gap that it's created between themselves, Cork and Sligo.
"So I think somebody who's going in there with just a level head of what needs to be done in order to maintain that Premier Division status because that then becomes the foundation that you build upon.
"It's very unrealistic, I think, to land into the Premier Division and expect then to aim for a top-half finish.
"You've got a lot of young players within that Cork City squad who are probably only playing in the Premier Division for the first time who are learning about the game and unfortunately being exposed to what higher level football entails, whereby you make mistakes, you get punished and that's why they've dropped a lot of points."
Corry added that from watching Cork's play this season, what has been notable has been a "massive gulf" in the middle of the park
"What I would like to see from someone going in there is to get them back to being well drilled, well organised, try to be a team that can graft out points," he said.
"The goals of the club very much need to be aligned with who's coming in and ensuring that Cork have a foundation when we're speaking here in the next six to nine months that they can build upon to get to the next level."
As for Clancy's legacy, ex-Dundalk, Shamrock Rovers and Brighton midfielder Richie Towell said the 40-year-old had been unfortunate with the circumstances he had been dealt this season.
"I think he's been really, really unlucky. He did kind of put all his eggs in one basket a little bit with signing Seani Maguire and Ruairi Keating, thinking that 'if we can keep it solid at the back, these two boys will fire us to glory,'" he said.
"And then I watched some of the games as well and you see the keeper gives away the penalty last week (against Drogheda United), he gets caught in no man's land (against Derry). You can't coach stuff like that. That's just bad decision-making from the players that are on the pitch.
"I think he did really well to get them promoted but I think he's been really unlucky with injuries and some of the decision-making from his own players.
"So sometimes you do need a fresh voice to get the best out of some players. Like you see what's after happening with Waterford - couldn't buy a win and now all of a sudden they've won four in a row, interim manager and then new manager comes in and there's a little bit of a freshness about the place and I think maybe that's now what Cork City need just to kick them on a little bit."
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