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It will be a few weeks yet before the most dreaded label in football – (R) – will be appended to Wolves' name in the Premier League table, but the feeling that the credits have begun to roll on this season was hard to shake after Sunday at Selhurst.
They did a lot of things better than Crystal Palace, had a discernible plan both with 11 men and with 10, but failed in the most important moments, so lost.
So what? Wolves fans have seen this movie before, many times. Losing the game rather than taking a least a point cannot be said to make any significant difference to the outcome of this season.
These games do make a difference, though, far beyond deciding on which date relegation becomes mathematically certain. The anger of last autumn may have subsided somewhat, and there have been surges of excitement, like in the final moments against Arsenal. It is better. But each failure to win still saps the hope fans feel for the future.
With only one win in the 17 Premier League games since Rob Edwards replaced Vitor Pereira, the calls to BBC Radio WM from fans thinking it might be time to change again have started to re-emerge.
"I think there's a split in the camp," said former Wolves winger Steve Froggatt on Tuesday's WM Phone-In, assessing the feelings of the fanbase.
However, Froggatt believes Wolves are unlikely to heed the calls to replace another coach: "They're not going to get rid of him. The reality is, they've set it in. Matt Jackson, who I know, knows his football. [Edwards] is cemented into that position for next season. They know they're going down. He's been put there to get them out of the Championship, and they'll do whatever is necessary to put a team together to do that. So nothing's going to change."
Wolves are keenly aware that supporters are, understandably, disillusioned. The only way to ease that tension, though, and create a more hopeful atmosphere, which would help next season, will be to win a few games.
For that reason, even if many of the players involved may end up moving on before August, the remaining league and cup games this season really do matter.
When you're bottom of the league, all the fixtures look tough, but any victories will be valuable, even though far too late to change this season's outcome.
And tune into The West Midlands Football Phone-In from 18:00 on weeknights
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