As Wolverhampton Wanderers' play-off aspirations diminish, attention at Molineux is turning towards manager Glenn Hoddle, who is contracted to the club only until the end of the season.
Hoddle, named as Dave Jones's replacement in December, has done a solid if not remarkable job in guiding Wolves to eight league draws and only one defeat in his 11 matches at the helm in the Championship.
Given that the club are more than ten points adrift of the play-offs with only 13 matches remaining, Hoddle's plan to steer them into the top six and back to the Premiership appears destined to fail but the former England manager has impressed the Molineux playing staff with his innovative training methods and attention to detail.
Consequently, striker Carl Cort, who was dropped for Tuesday's match at Queens Park Rangers before appearing as a substitute and equal-ising in the 1-1 draw, has called on the club's hierarchy to tie Hoddle to a long-term deal.
Cort said: "The manager has come in and introduced new ideas. His coaching skills are very high and he knows a lot about the game.
"I just think, at the moment, in terms of the fans and maybe the players as well, he has signed a contract until the end of the season and you don't really know what is going to happen.
"I think that is a shame because you can't really build for the future, but the decision has nothing to do with me.
"It is down to the board --they are 100 per cent sure what they are doing - and hopefully they will sort it out."
With Wolves unlikely to attract a more high-profile and better-qualified coach to replace Hoddle, they have every incentive to retain the 47-year-old's services.
Given that footballers are often known to take liberties with managers who are on their way out, the club are probably advised to secure Hoddle's position sooner rather than later if this season is not to end in a damp squib.
That is the last thing Hoddle and his players want, which is why Cort says they cannot afford to give up on their aim of gatecrashing the play-offs.
He said: "You have to have some sort of target and ours is still to get in the play-offs, otherwise you end up just drifting through the season and going through the motions.
"We have to have that in mind to keep the motivation and the confidence there. It is one of those situations where we may need a couple of good wins to lift the club.
"I think the most frustrating thing is that, in the past, we have picked up draws when we should have picked up victories.
"Looking back, we feel we should have taken advantage in more games because, at the moment, draws are really no good for us."
Cort says victory at home against Watford on Saturday is essential but he is wary that Wolves' supporters' high expectations can often inhibit the team at Molineux.
Cort said: "We have to move up the table and it is basically now or never. We have to win against Watford, there are no two ways about it but it feels like we are going into home matches and we have to deal with the opposition teams and our own fans - it shouldn't be that way.
"We know teams are coming to our place to frustrate us for the first 15-20 minutes, because they know the fans are going to get our our backs.
"The fans may not realise it, but it does play a part and it can affect certain players. Hopefully, we can give the supporters something to cheer about on Saturday, though."
Watford, who reached the Carling Cup semi-finals this season, won at league leaders Ipswich Town on Tuesday night, however, so Wolves have been warned. n Brighton manager Mark McGhee expects Rami Shaaban to commit his immediate future to the club before Saturday's match with Millwall.
The former Arsenal goal-keeper is with the Seagulls on a non-contract basis but impressed so much in last weekend's win over Sunder-land that McGhee is desperate for him to sign a deal for the rest of the season.
