Alan Curtis has warned Swansea that if they go down they might not get back up again as the club head into the defining period of their season.
The club's powerbrokers were on Friday re-adjusting their sights on to Bayern Munich assistant manager Paul Clement for their top job, with Gary Rowett narrowly behind him.
The English pair have been elevated to the top of the shortlist after leading target Chris Coleman ruled himself out on Thursday and interest in Ryan Giggs faded.
Clement, who has assisted Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea, Real Madrid and PSG but has less than a year of experience as a manager at Derby, was overlooked for the Swansea job in October.