The first two in that sequence never transpired but I think that it is time to put any degree of uncertainty around the third to bed and get the contract signed.

Holloway, for his part, was very open last week when he said that he would be happy to sign whatever passed his lawyers and has been open about that for more than a month. So why wait?

I wrote when he arrived that I felt the charisma and experience of Holloway could be the antidote for the many issues which had plagued the previous two-and-a-half seasons of decline. Even with that hope, the reality has been the best-case scenario of what he would be able to accomplish.

It took seven games to find it, but the formula and culture for success is now there and it has brought a sense of colour back to a picture that was increasingly dark before. Instead of relentlessly headbutting the same brick wall of trying to play possession football no matter what, the 61-year-old has forged a team playing to their strengths and creating excitement whilst doing it.

I can’t claim to speak for Holloway, he does more than enough of that himself, but spending time in his company you can see that he loves to manage and has all the energy in the world to carry that on.

Not only has he created calm with on-pitch matters, the January window was the smoothest since the Summer of 2019 and his experience with how successful clubs have conducted themselves in this regard has also helped everyone else in that team to raise their game.

Despite his tenure having only lasted four months so far, it feels like he is structurally integral to the entire footballing operation and removing that piece would create far more problems than it would solve.

It is not possible to know how all of this would translate into next season but not only would I feel far more confident of his ability to do this than any unknown external arrival, but this would also be the first time since Richie Wellens that any manager had the chance to carry the work of one season into the next.

The ability to know a squad intimately and know precisely what needs to be added to attack next season and emulate what a team like Walsall have been able to do this year without having to have otherworldly backing.

All of this goes beyond the other point in his favour, which is that by removing Holloway from the equation then you have lost the only person within the organisation you would trust to appoint a successor. Holloway is the only one left with the knowledge to do that and I have a sneaking suspicion he would probably choose a former Blackpool manager based in the West Country.

The sense I have is that Holloway would only be looking for a commitment next season, so you don’t have to commit to a multi-year marriage but if every party wants this to continue for another year then let’s make that happen.

The hold-up may simply be that the club are preparing things for the announcement, but I don’t think the suspense is needed. There are 13 games remaining and nobody is rationally thinking about the playoffs.

It is time to start getting things set for a proper run at that next year and the first piece you can put into that jigsaw is a contract extension for Holloway.