Even a late surge of fantastic form won't earn Newcastle United a top 10 finish this season - meaning they will have spent just three weeks outside the bottom half of the table.
Talk of pushing for the upper half of the table was rife at the end of last season but the Magpies suffered a torrid post-Christmas slump and were badly hit by Covid and injuries to key players such as Miguel Almiron, Allan Saint-Maxmin and Callum Wilson.
With four games left the maximum points tally they can achieve is 48 and with games to play against Leicester City (a) and Man City (h) it is a tall order for Steve Bruce.
Bruce, the players and staff will still pick up a bonus if they stay in the top-flight and then it will be all eyes on next season.
The new campaign starts in earnest on the weekend of August 14, but players will already be back in pre-season training in less than eight weeks with a shorter turnaround caused by the late start to the season amid the pandemic.
Having finished 13th last term, securing that position again, which would unlock more merit payments from the Premier League, is still a possibility.
And then attention switches to next season when Newcastle will get the chance to run out in front of their fans once again.
With a limited crowd expected for the home clash with Sheffield United and around 100 fans allowed to travel to Fulham for the last day of the season, players get to taste playing in front of spectators again for the first time since March when a 1-0 win at Southampton proved to be the final encounter for a crowd.
Quite what type of Newcastle line-up they will see by the time the first game of the new campaign comes around will be interesting given that finances have already been played down by Bruce.
As things stand preparations for pre-season and summer recruitment are already under way with the current regime and Bruce and his scouting team are finalising plans for next term.
Head of recruitment Steve Nickson has been at some recent games as he looks to assess what United are truly lacking, and after Wilson and Saint-Maximin barely got on the ball against Arsenal in the 2-0 defeat, a fresh creative force wouldn't go amiss.
Newcastle have checked out Kristoffer Ajer of Celtic in recent weeks while Bruce has already declared publicly he wants to sign Joe Willock again from Arsenal, either on loan or permanently.
But for United to make the jump from their current fourth bottom and into the top 10 feels like it requires a major revamp behind the scenes.
They could need at least half a dozen new players if they are to ensure they have sufficient cover and competition in the ranks.
Decisions will also need to be made on out of contract players like Paul Dummett, Federico Fernandez and Andy Carroll while the Magpies are also yet to secure Fabian Schar's services.
With Henri Saivet and Christian Atsu set to leave the club next month the wage bill is expected to receive a welcome reduction.
Then there are also returning loanees such as Yoshinori Muto, who has suggested he is open to staying at Eibar, Florian Lejeune, who Alaves want to keep, and Freddie Woodman who needs first-team football or the chance to challenge for the number 1 spot on Tyneside.
Takeover or no takeover, there is a bulging in tray for Bruce and managing director Lee Charnley to get through if the Magpies are to avoid another white knuckle ride in the Premier League next season.
