By the time Sunday, 16 March dawns, Newcastle United's short-, medium- and long-term future should be considerably clearer. The day itself will see Eddie Howe either leading his team out at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final or rewatching videos of the previous day's scheduled Premier League fixture at home to Crystal Palace. It all hinges on a two-part semi-final against Arsenal, with the first leg in north London tonight.
Howe has frequently reiterated his "burning desire" to end a club trophy drought stretching back to 1969 and the European Fairs Cup. "Arsenal's a massive game for us," he said yesterday. "We're under no illusions as to how big this is for our season."
Given that two of his key players, Bruno Guimarães and Fabian Schär - crucially, Howe's sole fit right-footed centre-half - are suspended for the visit to the Emirates Stadium, Mikel Arteta's title-chasing team unsurprisingly kick off as favourites. Yet even if Newcastle's hopes of reaching a second Carabao Cup final in three seasons are left in tatters, a second Champions League qualification within the same timeframe could still be within touching distance.
After all, five straight Premier League victories have camouflaged, and perhaps even repaired, the behind-the-scenes fissures that disrupted the team's early season progress. So much so that, with Sandro Tonali dictating midfield and Alexander Isak scoring freely, Newcastle have risen to fifth.
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