Having been later than planned when it came to taking his seat in the stands at Ashton Gate last weekend, Vitor Matos could have been forgiven for wanting to make an early dash to the concourse with Swansea City already trailing.
Rob Dickie's header in the fourth minute set the tone for what was to be a wretched afternoon for the members of the Jack Army, who packed out the away end in Bristol.
The Swans were worryingly lacklustre, and the kind of fight and spirit typically demonstrated when the chance to impress a new regime - a new manager bounce, if you like - was criminally lacking.
Perhaps it was to be expected, though, given that the very man tasked with overseeing matters in the absence of Matos himself stated that performance would not be at the forefront of his mind against the Robins.
"I don't even worry about the performance, I worry about winning," Darren O'Dea said in his pre-match press conference.
"That's where all of the focus has gone, certainly in the last 48 hours."
It would be unfair to be overly critical of O'Dea given the circumstances that led to him being the key figure in the Swansea dug-out at Ashton Gate, although he was ultimately responsible for setting the alarm bells ringing in the first place.
Former Swan Andy Robinson arguably put it best in his social media post.
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The 46-year-old wrote on X: "One manager lost his job, new manager sitting in the stands and one lad standing in as interim for one game and the players put in a pitiful performance like that."
Robinson rightly went on to praise the efforts of midfielder Ethan Galbraith, but his overall sentiment, unfortunately for the Swansea faithful, was spot on.
A seventh league defeat of the season combined with results elsewhere in the division saw Swansea fall to 20th in the Championship table, just four points above the relegation zone.
If that didn't emphasise the scale of the task that lies ahead for Matos and his staff, the nature of the Swans' abject display in front of his very eyes on Saturday certainly would have done the trick.
Josh Tymon and Ben Cabango are both set to return from suspension for Tuesday night's home fixture against a Derby side who saw their stunning five-game winning run come to an end against Watford last time out.
In the short term, tightening up the defence will be essential as Swansea look to arrest their dramatic slide.
They have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last seven matches in all competitions and have conceded 15 goals in that run, at a rate of 2.1 goals per game.
However, Swansea's glaring problem under Alan Sheehan was their lack of an attacking plan.
Stats gurus Sofascore state that Swansea's total of 16 big chances created this season is comfortably the lowest of any team in the second tier, while only Derby have averaged fewer than the Swans' tally of 3.4 shots on target per game.
Only Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United - who are both currently in the bottom three - have scored fewer than the pitiful15 goals Swansea have netted in the Championship.
So all in all, there is a lot for Matos and his coaching staff to solve.
Rome wasn't built in a day, and the Portuguese boss will require patience from the fans when it comes to implementing his own methods, particularly given his mid-season arrival.
But given their dire showing against Bristol City, the onus is on the Swansea players to deliver a response against Derby.
As individuals, they now need to prove they are worthy of being given a chance to be a part of the rebuild under Matos.
