As Leeds United today succumbed to their fifth straight defeat, having gone from promotion probables to relegation possibles in record time, it is inevitable that Ken Bates will be planning for 2009 with a new manager at the helm.
Gary McAllister is and always will be a Leeds United legend, but along with the greats such as Billy Bremner, Eddie Gray and Allan Clarke, such status will not deprive him of the sack this Christmas.
Despite being in charge for less than a year, during which time he steered the club to the play-off final at Wembley, the current run of form is nothing short of disastrous, with the season fast heading for yet another embarrassing low.
Despite playing some fantastic football at times this season McAllister's job was always about getting the bookies favourites out of League One. This task now seems beyond him. Each week another nail is hammered into the coffin.
To have racked up NINE league defeats in just 21 league games for the biggest and strongest squad in the division is completely unacceptable. The defensive frailties identified many weeks ago have not been addressed, and it seems the January transfer window will arrive to late to spare the Scot the axe.
Ken Bates will be mindful of the fact that the January window will make or break the club's season, and will be wanting to avoid last year's scenario where money was spent on players by a manager whose days were numbered.
Next up for the beleaguered side is a visit from table-topping Leicester City on boxing day, a side currently in a rich vein of form. The Foxes are now 15 points ahead of United, an infamous number for Leeds. This season no blame can be attached to any outside influences, the responsibility lies firmly on the shoulders of Gary McAllister.
