Throughout much of the 2018/19 season it looked like Tony Pulis and his Middlesbrough side would be challenging for promotion until the bitter end.
As late as the end of November the North East side sat inside the top two. They were not scoring many but looked impossible to beat at the back, keeping 11 clean sheets in their first 17 matches.
But then it all went wrong.
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A run of just one win in six saw them slip out of the top two race and a further poor run of form saw their play-off hopes diminish and then evaporate completely.
It was the sort of collapse that is almost always fatal to a manager and this instance proved no different.
Last week it was confirmed that Pulis would be leaving his role, with the club deciding not to renew his contract after months of pressure from their fans.
The hunt is now on for his replacement. But no matter who takes over, the club must ensure they hang on to a key man.
Britt Assombalonga made the move to the Riverside from Nottingham Forest back in the summer of 2017 for £15million and was meant to be the man to fire Boro back into the Premier League.
However, he has not had a good time of it under Pulis, failing to adapt to the former West Brom and Stoke boss's style of play.
It has led to speculation of him leaving, with Fulham the latest club to be linked with a move for the 26-year-old, according to Football Insider.
But letting him leave would only give the new manager a massive job to do. Britt is a natural goalscorer in the second tier and will guarantee you goals.
Whilst he clearly did not suit a Pulis side, he still emerged as the club's top goalscorer two seasons on the bounce - scoring 15 and 14 respectively.
If a manager is brought in with an emphasis on playing attacking football then there would be no better player to lead the line than Britt.
Middlesbrough are still in a strong position to push for promotion next season but challenging Pulis' successor to bring in a ready-made Championship goalscorer after letting one go could scupper any chance they have.