January in recent seasons has been a time where things have appeared far more bleak, and even in some cases desperate, for Cardiff City.
Uncertainty has often been a theme.
Yousef Salech was the headline signing in the opening month of 2025, although the striker's eight goals in the latter half of the season were still not enough to keep the Bluebirds in the Championship.
The likes of Sivert Mannsverk and Will Alves came and went as the grim reality of Cardiff's perilous position became more evident by the week in the opening months of the year.
But January 2026 looks set to be different. Dramatically so, in fact.
With Cardiff's primary focus this season being to secure an immediate return to the second tier, Brian Barry-Murphy could perhaps have been forgiven for not being overly focused on cup competitions.
However, the Irishman has adopted the mindset that becoming a ruthless winning machine is far more beneficial.
It has undoubtedly proven refreshing for the Cardiff faithful this season that Barry-Murphy has taken the League Cup so seriously.
Indeed, the Bluebirds had not progressed beyond the third round of the League Cup since going all the way to the final under Malky Mackay in 2011-12.
But after navigating their way past Swindon Town and Cheltenham Town, Barry-Murphy went on to mastermind stunning away wins against Premier League Burnley and Championship Wrexham.
The reward for Cardiff's young guns was the opportunity to test themselves against the might of Chelsea in the quarter-finals, and they emerged from the 3-1 loss with immense credit, and briefly had dreams of claiming a major scalp when David Turnbull leapt to head into the net in front of a raucous Canton End.
Their cup adventure is over, but the young guns will have benefitted massively from lining up against Enzo Maresca's mega-money outfit.
And it has somewhat flipped the upcoming January transfer window, too.
The club will undoubtedly be keen to strengthen in a bid to bolster their already strong chances of promotion this season - particularly with talisman Rubin Colwill still on the sidelines.
But there will also be an element of intrigue when it comes to the possibility of vultures circling around the club's prized assets, a fear that has been something of a rarity over recent years.
Dylan Lawlor has impressed at both club and international level and has already been touted by some, including former Wales striker Iwan Roberts, as a future Premier League player.
The centre-back was recently linked with a host of top-flight clubs such as Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Liverpool, although Cardiff did well to strengthen their hand when it comes to the 19-year-old, having handed him a fresh contract as recently as August.
Isaak Davies, Ronan Kpakio, Joel Bagan, Rubin Colwill and Joel Colwill have also starred, as has last season's marquee signing Salech, who is League One's joint-top scorer with 10 goals.
Cardiff supporters would be loath to see any of their young talents move on to pastures new, particularly in the mid-season window.
But the very fact it's now a discussion point goes some way to highlighting the truly immense progress the Bluebirds have made in such a short space of time under head coach Barry-Murphy.
The glum 20 league defeats suffered last season are now starting to feel like a distant memory, and it's largely thanks to the young men who have stepped up to the plate having been provided with the platform to thrive under an ambitious head coach who has believed in each and every one of them from day one.
The club faced difficult tests last season - not least on managerial appointments - and were ultimately found wanting.
Their resolve could be tested in a different way next month and fans will be hoping they prove up to the task.
