Ole Gunnar Solskjaer last week insisted he's still been sleeping soundly despite the mounting pressure at Manchester United,
But, even when drifting into a dream every time his head hit the pillow, the United manager probably couldn't have envisaged a fantasy land as ideal as this reality.
Fortunate to survive last week in the wake of the humbling at the hands of Liverpool at Old Trafford, Solskjaer masterminded a rout of Tottenham to ease the pressure and winning plaudits for unveiling a new system that fixed some of the ills afflicting his team.
Having been odds-on to be the next boss sacked in the Premier League last week, Solskjaer instead pushed Nuno Espirito Santo through the exit door marked and is now watching as the man hotly tipped to replace the Norwegian in Manchester is instead set to take up employment with Tottenham.
So not only can Solskjaer toast a win that saved him from the sack, but it was also a result that took the most obvious and easily appointable of the candidates to replace him off the market.
It was a similar story last November when United considered an approach for Mauricio Pochettino if Solskjaer was unable to turn fortunes around. Results picked up at a crucial juncture and the easy 'Pochettino Plan B' was off the table by the end of December when he was appointed head coach at Paris St-Germain.
That Solskjaer could survive Pochettino and Conte being out of work and available is remarkable, in a way, given so many doubts continue to swirl around him and his ability to manage United.
And while the win in North London on Saturday was vital, he isn't yet out of the woods. He needs to avoid any more disastrous displays against Atalanta and Manchester City this week to make sure he survives the international break. His chances of doing that are almost certainly enhanced if Conte joins Tottenham, the only viable free-agent option. It would mean United would need to lure a replacement from another club, and that is rarely straightforward and often expensive.
But while Conte was the easy option for United, that didn't necessarily make him the right option. Appointing a replacement now might be more complicated though shouldn't mean the decision-makers at Old Trafford take it easy on Solskjaer.
Across 180 minutes this week, plenty can still change and United might be decisive if Saturday's performance was simply a false dawn.
Two positive results will keep Solskjaer in the post, however, and he'd probably deserve to survive if that was the case. There were plenty of positives in the change of system on Saturday and if momentum can be built from there he will have bought another stay of execution.
The road to Solskjaer taking United to challengers and title winners seems a winding one, despite the tactical improvements on show at the weekend. If at some point in the next few months results and performances take another nosedive - or even if it that happens this week - United must be ready.
So while the option of Conte looks to have gone, that shouldn't be an excuse. He wasn't the right fit anyway. Solskjaer has made progress at United from the fractious days of Jose Mourinho. Returning to another short-term manager with a demanding personality and a desire for an open chequebook would be a backward step, regardless of how good his CV is.
Right now, Brendan Rodgers and Erik ten Hag are probably the best candidates. But the Leicester City and Ajax managers aren't even close to being certain success stories. They have questions to answer.
United need to keep a check on candidates while Solskjaer remains in the eye of the storm. He bought himself time on Saturday, but don't yet know how much.
