There is a culture in modern football of turning on managers after even the slightest period of poor form - Norwich City need to remain patient around Dean Smith and his position.
The figures don't lie, and they cause concern - one win in seven, sitting outside the top six and underwhelming performances have seeded doubt among some that Norwich's boss is the best placed person to take them forward.
But there has been mitigation. Norwich have been without a left back for a large portion of this campaign and their poster boy signing of the summer window Isaac Hayden made only his first start on Saturday against Burnley.
It is little coincidence that both Dimitris Giannoulis' return and Hayden's first start led to the side looking better balanced, but when their respective tanks began to empty, Norwich's performance levels dramatically decreased.
Smith is right - for extended periods of that game, in particular the first half, their game plan worked.
Their work in the final third on Saturday was so frustrating. I watched the game with fury as their play was littered with major opportunities squandered, the final decision was left wanting and their attacking play stodgy.
It was a similar problem to the one they encountered against Burnley last night, where they struggled to create anything tangible for large portions of the game at Turf Moor.
That is on Smith, his coaching team and players - but it is also fixable. The problem is that there is such a short period of time to be able to fix it.
In a league that is so relentless, Smith has little time to coach this team on the training pitch. By his own admission, he has been forced to use the classroom more than he would like.
The argument that points to managers like Vincent Kompany is valid - but Burnley overhauled a large portion of their squad in the summer. Smith wasn't afforded that luxury.
I'm not saying that Norwich need to continue down a blind path believing that this will come good if a larger body of evidence than currently available disputes that - but the only way an answer will be provided is through time.
This present run, in my opinion, is not enough to warrant Smith losing his job. They are still in touching distance of the promotion spots in a league that nobody has grabbed hold of yet.
All it would require is a positive run of form to push them dramatically up the table - just as it did in the opening period of the campaign.
Look at Mikel Arteta, who a large section of their supporters wanted to be sacked after their poor start to the last season, or Brendan Rodgers who has stabilised Leicester after an enduring start to the campaign. Patience can work as well.
The answer isn't always as simple as changing the man in the dug out. There is work that needs to be done - this is simply too premature a point in the season to suggest that Smith won't get Norwich promoted.
This is currently just a bad run of form. Not yet is it terminal.
Norwich have five matches to the World Cup break, Smith's task in the short term is to get them back in an upwardly mobile state and inside the top six. From there, he should be granted time to continue that march for promotion.
But if, in a few months, the signs are still negative or Norwich haven't improved despite key players returning then that is the point where a conversation needs to take place over whether he is the right man to lead them forward.
The situation he inherited was tough. Last year's remit of attempting to keep that Norwich side in the Premier League was a thankless, and arguably impossible, task.
Now he has been left to sift through the wreckage of a side who are short of confidence, on form and need reinvigorating. If anyone suspected that would be a quick fix then, as season proves, that is not an easy job.
Say Norwich did make a change - whoever came next would be faced with similar problems. The accounts published last week paint a grim future for the future if promotion isn't achieved.
Without a major churn of players or dramatic changes to the club, Smith's approach was always going to be soft and slow.
That is why I wrote in this column prior to the season beginning that I felt it would be extremely tough for City to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking. Those wounds don't heal quickly.
Some fans have made their mind up on Smith. Ultimately, it is supporters who have the ability to make a manager's position untenable by creating a toxic atmosphere - we have seen that with Steven Gerrard in the last week.
My message would be just to wait for a bit longer.
The pressure is on for Smith - but he also deserves the time to prove he can turn it around given the tough hand he has been dealt.
Worth noting that he has been in this position before at Aston Villa, where lockdown prevented him from the sack before he managed to get an uplift in Project Restart to keep them up.
There is no reason why Norwich won't view the World Cup break in a similar way.
In a footballing world that is all consumed in removing managers and creating a frenzy around coaches' jobs, I hope Norwich City will be the exception and give Smith a period of time, with players returning, to prove he can take them forward.
That isn't a guarantee that he can, but I'm not convinced we've seen enough yet to definitively say he cannot.
Only time will provide an answer - so let's give Smith some breathing space to put this right.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here