IF Blackburn Rovers are to win their battle for survival in the Premiership then the events of the next three weeks will be absolutely crucial.
By that, I'm not referring to the vital games coming up against Wolves, Bolton Wanderers and Manchester City, all teams with their own eyes on the situation at the bottom.
No, what could ultimately decide Rovers' fate is the outcome of the club's dealings in the transfer market between now and January 31st.
The recruitment of a central midfielder has become a top priority since Barry Ferguson shattered his kneecap at Newcastle 10 days ago.
An injury to either Garry Flitcroft or Tugay would be catastrophic at this moment in time because there isn't a natural replacement in the squad.
And what about the situation up front? Souness must feel like he's won the lottery with Paul Gallagher but it's asking too much to expect a 19-year-old to score the goals to save the team's bacon.
After that, the options are limited.
Andy Cole looked back to his best at the beginning of the season but his sending off at Southampton has disrupted what had threatened to be a promising campaign.
Then there's Dwight Yorke and Matt Jansen who have scored just seven goals between them.
Jansen, like Cole, showed signs of getting back to where he was 18 months ago at the start of the campaign but both his form and confidence have dipped since he lost his place in the side in October.
New blood is therefore needed to provide Souness with more attacking options but the manager appears to be at loggerheads with the board over the amount of money he has to spend on reinforcements -- a situation which is no doubt being replicated at every other Premiership club in the land right now barring Chelsea.
On the one hand, Souness feels a cash injection of £3-4 million now could end up saving the club millions in the summer if it means the difference between staying up and going down.
But on the other, the board do not have access to a bottomless pit and they have a duty to Jack Walker's trustees to make sure they work to a strict budget.
So where do we go from here? Relegation is unthinkable and would be tantamount to financial melt-down.
With Jack Walker no longer around, would the club ever be able to come back?
With that in mind, would it be better to gamble a couple of million now to make sure that doesn't happen?
Rest assured that John Williams and his board will be doing everything in their power to make that happen.
But with gates at the current levels they are and the opportunity to make some extra revenue in the cup competitions a non-starter, that might be easier said than done.
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