Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce has made it clear that he has arrived as a troubleshooter at the club, and his priority is to work on short-term goals.
The former Bolton, Newcastle United and West Ham United manager knows that his immediate goal is to ensure the survival of the Wearside club, and then only he can spare a thought on the rebuilding of the embattled squad.
"I'm here to save them," he said on Tuesday. "I'm the troubleshooter.
"I've got to get the club out of trouble and then rebuild it. The only priority I've got is to focus on saving it. The job's not to focus on the academy or what happens in two years' time. It's got to be about now.
"It's about protecting Premier League status because, if the club wants to move forward, it can't have the financial devastation relegation will bring. It needs the pot of money the new television deal will bring in the summer."