The irony will not be lost on Alan Pardew if former employers Southampton see him out of a job as Crystal Palace manager on Saturday.
But if their side do inflict the final, fatal blow on Pardew's loosening grip on the Selhurst Park hot-seat, Southampton supporters should remember the vital role he played in their rise up the divisions before allowing themselves to revel in his misfortune.
Whenever the subject of Southampton's remarkable climb from the foot of League One back to the Premier League via administration and near extinction is discussed, Nigel Adkins is the manager given the most credit.