Wayne Rooney suffered a damaging 4-0 defeat to Frank Lampard's Coventry to pile further pressure on the beleaguered Plymouth Argyle boss.
The former England team-mates' first management meeting overshadowed the crucial Championship match for the visitors on Boxing Day, who drew level at the bottom of the table.
Argyle have gone into their last eight league games without a win, a run extended to nine after their last heavy away defeat.
The Sky Blues did all their damage in the first half, as goals from Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, Ephron Mason-Clark and a brace from Josh Eccles lifted Lampard's men to 14th in the standings.
His side have now recorded three wins since his appointment last month and are just ten points away from the play-offs.
Some palliation for Plymouth's miserable run comes in their extraordinary list of absentees. On Thursday, Rooney was without Ryan Hardie, Michael Obafemi, Ibrahim Cissoko, Muhamed Tijani and Morgan Whittaker.
It meant the former Derby manager handed 16-year-old Tegan Finn his first start after making one appearance as a second-half substitute in the 3-0 defeat to Leeds in November.
Rooney was also without captain Joe Edwards for the game in the Midlands.
Coventry's attack started after just five minutes when Sakamoto struck. Eccles doubled the home side's lead after 20 minutes before grabbing his second on the stroke of half-time after Mason-Clark scored his fourth goal in six games since Lampard's arrival.
Rooney's problems were compounded in the 87th minute when Callum Wright was dismissed, meaning he did not feature in Sunday's match against Oxford United.
The Manchester United legend faced chants of 'sacked in the morning' from his own supporters after Eccles' second second before the break. His side, who are still two points behind safety, conceded 16 goals in four away games last month.
Their upcoming match against 20th-placed Oxford will offer his team another chance to awaken from their slumber and help the manager stave off mounting pressure for his sacking.
Coventry, meanwhile, welcome Millwall to the Coventry Building Society Arena on Sunday, who they defeated in early December for Lampard's first win.
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