Ange Postecoglou can put an end to the 17-year-old trophy-dried by Tottenham by winning the Europa League final against Manchester United, but even the victory in Bilbao on Wednesday may not be enough to save him from the bag.
Beating United to break the silver course and earn a place in the UEFA Champions League of next season would be an important moment in the recent history of Tottenham.
The North London club has not won a big trophy since he defeated Chelsea in the final of the League Cup 2008, while their last European silverware came to the UEFA Cup 1984.
But Postecoglou has challenged such a miserable Premier League campaign that the Tottenham boss goes to the San Mames Stadium with his future in the balance, regardless of the result.
Tottenham -President Daniel Levy has not been shy when it comes to management changes and has already been associated with Thomas Frank van Brentford, Oliver Glasner from Crystal Palace and Marco Silva van Fulham.
While speculation is stimulated that Postecoglou will have disappeared after the final, his brash brash was that he “always wins things” came in his second season to define the campaign.
The 59-year-old Australian can point out titles and cups won in his second year with Celtic, Yokohama F-Marinos, Brisbane Roar and South Melbourne.
But those successes came far from the high -pressure environment of one of the serial underperformers of English football.
The last top of Tottenham came in 1961 in 1961 and since their most recent FA Cup final victory in 1991, the competition was won by Crystal Palace, Leicester, Portsmouth and Wigan.
The mocking term 'Spursy' has entered the Football Lexicon to describe the kind of self -inflicted wounds that the club affects so often.
Despite a promising start, stopping Tottenham herself in the foot has proved impossible for Postcoglou.
Spurs allowed a Champions League spot to slip through their handle in the last weeks of last season and Postecoglou has never been recovered.
His preference for ultra-attacking tactics initially earned praise, but it was not long before smart opposition managers operated the gaps in his defense.
Postecoglou was so often for his naive approach by fans that he was finally bursting during a 1-0 defeat in Chelsea in April.
He celebrated the apparent equalizer of Pape Sarr by sarcastically cuping to the supporters who had hunted him, only for his season of hell to hit a new low point while Var intervened so as not to allow the goal.
That was one of the 21 defeats in the Premier League this period, which exceeds their previous worst top loss of 19 in 1993-94 and 2003-04.
Tottenham is ready to get away in 17th place with one more competition, to endure their worst finish since they were relegated in 1976-77.
In the midst of the wreck of the gloomy domestic form of Tottenham, Postecoglou has sent them to the edge of European glory.
Even Postecoglou admitted that it was “general sentiment” that he would be fired, regardless of a Europe run by navigating by knockout tires against AZ Alkmaar, Eintracht Frankfurt and Bodo/Glimt.
In defense of his troubled season, Postecoglou has constantly pointed out his problems with merging an injuries-to-wear team.
James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Lucas Bergvall will all miss the final in the newest series of success.
“We have treated setbacks all year round, in particular around our injury situation and the availability of players,” Postecoglou told UEFA.com.
“I have a great admiration and respect for this group of players. And I really hope they have the reward for that, the final.”
Following the judgment of Postecoglou, Tottenham -midfielder Yves Bissouma said: “He is like a father or uncle for us. He always protects us. Every game when we lose or win.
“He has a top mentality. He understands football. He knows it's up and down. He never blames players.”
Whether that belief in Postecoglou will be sufficient to save him from the ax is a different matter.