Dundee United and Stephen Thompson are stuck with each other.
The Tannadice chairman has taken ferocious flak for a catalogue of calamities under his recent stewardship, but he intends to stick around for a while yet.
In which case, he needs to get this next managerial appointment spot on. If he does, then his recent troubles with the fans, most of whom simply want to see a winning team, will disappear.
He will go for an experienced man, but with compensation figures of up to £200,000 to lure the Premiership’s current top performers, United will go for someone who has been forged in the fire of the top flight, but who is cheaper to hire.
A perfect storm of damaging decisions has left United beached and bedraggled in the relegation zone: from the sale of top players to Celtic, the ruinous revelation that the manager took a cut of some sales, to the signing of a posse of players with no appreciable ability, the reasons why the club and manager Jackie McNamara parted company are very apparent.
Thompson now has one final chance to avoid mutiny, or worse, apathy from the supporters. He must appoint a manager who can bring order to the chaos.
The chairman, though, is going nowhere. A possible deal with an American medical man who the club met earlier in the year came to nothing and board member John Bennett, who has the money and previously tried to buy the club, is no longer interested.
Under Eddie Thompson, manager Craig Levein brought discipline, structure and stability to the club. Now that is needed again to ensure top league status is retained.
Stuart McCall and Mixu Paataleinen are both free agents and in the frame.
Also in the picture is St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright, who has outfoxed United so many times he should have them in his trophy cabinet. Working with a wage budget £1m a season less than United’s, Wright looks a good fit.
If Thompson gets this appointment right, United supporters will rally to the cause. There are many good players at Tannadice who, coached and drilled with detail and precision, can turn current second bottom place into a top-six spot.
Rightly or wrongly, many fans feel that they have been sold down the river. A good appointment will fix that.
This could be chairman Stephen Thompson’s toughest football decision ever.