Barry Ferguson's assertion that he believes he's in with a chance of becoming Rangers boss on a permanent basis perhaps indicates a shift in the mood music around the interim gaffer.
And it's possibly a result of last week's sit down summit with incoming sporting director Kevin Thelwell.
The current Everton executive will walk up the marble staircase at Ibrox this summer, when the protracted takeover by Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises should finally be completed.
Ferguson's chances of being appointed were widely dismissed after damaging defeats to Motherwell and Hibs, then a lacklustre showing at St Mirren following Gers' Europa League exit against Athletic Club.
The former Light Blues skipper is yet to win a game at Ibrox, although remains unbeaten against Celtic after the Final Old Firm clash of the campaign ended in a 1-1 draw.
But Ferguson's seemingly newfound belief in his prospects has Record Sport's Keith Jackson suspecting that meeting with Thelwell at least offered some encouragement.
And he warned on Hotline Live that the time taken to sign off on the takeover may leave the new regime with little choice but to stick with the man currently in the hotseat.
"I found that interesting because there seems to be a shift in his approach and his mentality," he said when asked about Ferguson's post match comments.
"He met with Kevin Thelwell last week and had a very long conversation. I find it interesting that the mood music appears to have shifted.
"He's not putting his hands in the air shouting 'give me the job.' But it was only a few weeks ago when he didn't really consider himself to be in the mix.
"It was after Hibs had won at Ibrox. he didn't see himself as being considered as a candidate.
"I just feel – I might be wrong – but I've just got a hunch that something that might have been said over the last wee while that's perked his attention.
"I keep coming back to it, whether he gets the job or not, that Rangers are absolutely miles behind in terms of planning for next season.
"With every day that passes, I think it becomes more likely that they're forced to go with Barry Ferguson because they really need to start making assessments of the player sin that squad just now.
"They need to make assessments on who to keep and who to lose. There will be more in the lose box than in the keep box.
"There are so many things that Rangers need to plan and it should have been done if not in January, then maybe even last summer.
"But they are now critically behind the eight ball. So something needs to happen and it needs to happen soon to give some sort of clarity.
"You would expect, with that particular fixture out of the road, maybe Rangers will address it."
Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport's newest podcast, Game On, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the "Do Not Sell or Share my Data" button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
