It’s now five days since the 'inevitable' finally occurred for Cardiff City.
After a dire 2024-25 season, the Bluebirds' relegation from the Championship was confirmed following a 0-0 draw with West Brom.
Most fans were already resigned to the club's fate prior to kick-off against the Baggies, but the rubber-stamping after their year of misery ensured a swift switch of focus to making the necessary changes to build for a brighter future.
Well, that is to say, from the fans at least, and, to his credit, from Aaron Ramsey.
The club's Supporters' Trust were quick to issue a scathing assessment of owner Vincent Tan.
"It seems to us that most of the strategic decision making at the club by the owner has been made in what is, effectively, an empirical knowledge and information vacuum," they wrote just 24 hours after it was confirmed Cardiff would be operating as a League One club next term.
Many of the supporters who put themselves through the hardship of watching Cardiff fail to win for the seventh game in succession wasted no time in belting out renditions of 'Vincent Tan, get out of our club' from the stands.
But the grim reality for the club is that Cardiff remain heavily reliant on the Malaysian businessman - who took control of the Bluebirds in 2010.
Whether they like it or not, their destiny continues to lie firmly in his hands.
But even he must now understand and accept that major changes are required, even if his statement issued this week was heavy on crisis management spin and light on detail.
READ MORE: Cardiff City's Relegation: How Much Is Vincent Tan to Blame — And What Comes Next?
The Trust referenced the 'elephants in the room' that have not been addressed.
Discussions simply must be held by the hierarchy around the merits of bringing in top level football experience to the club - either in the form of a sporting director, head of football operations or director of football.
Recruitment both on and off the pitch is arguably the biggest factor in ensuring if a club is successful or not.
For that to happen, the club needs a pre-defined profile for what their playing style - whatever it may be - requires.
It then allows the experienced football body/bodies to execute crucial matters including transfers and contracts to a structure aligned with the club.
This also needs to feed into the manager and coaching set-up within the club, and further down at academy and youth level.
To that end, what type of manager do the club employ ahead of what will be their first season in the third tier in 23 years?
In the club's end of season awards ceremony (yes, that really happened), Ramsey delivered an impassioned speech to supporters.
"I see this as an opportunity now, to bounce back from this," he said.
"In order for that to happen, everyone in this room - players, staff, fans, sponsors - have to come together. This club has to be united again in order for us to get back to where we belong."
READ MORE: Vincent Tan Insists: “I DO Care About Cardiff City” But Offers No Role For Fans In Rebuild
He added: "There's a lot of work that needs doing now, over the next few weeks. But if we get the right structure in place, these players are more than capable of producing performances."
The use of the word structure was particularly telling from Ramsey, and he will know better than most that it's something that is desperately lacking at the club.
Unfortunately, many of the concerns that feature most prominently in the minds of the Cardiff faithful at present are nothing new, hence there are enormous doubts over whether the issues will be sufficiently addressed any time soon, if at all.
But an implementation of a basic structure in line with sufficient experience and knowledge across the club's football departments will go a long way to bolstering Cardiff's hopes of dragging themselves out of this gloomy period and reigniting their hopes of becoming a Premier League team again.
Not that he really needed to, but Ramsey re-stated the point when he held what may well be his final pre-match press conference on Wednesday, ahead of Saturday’s final, and now meaningless, match at Norwich City.
READ MORE: Aaron Ramsey Unites With Fans . . . Something Major Needs To Change At Relegated Cardiff City
Ramsey’s intention is to return to playing - either with Cardiff or elsewhere - with the 34-year-old in no rush yet to become a regular dweller of the dug-out.
“What's important now is that the manager, and the staff that he brings in, create an identity that the fans can buy into again and can get right behind,” said the Wales captain.
“That's the first step and putting that in place, the rest can follow.
"It needs to be done relatively quickly, really, so there's clarity.
“Players coming and going need to understand the situation because the longer you leave it, you're eating into your pre-season time and your time working together as a team and that has a knock-on effect into the season as well.
"My door is always open and if they want it, of course I will give my feedback.”
Whether Tan decides to knock remains to be seen.
