Blackburn Rovers' deputy CEO Paul Hunt wrote a letter to the club's Indian owners Venky's in December imploring them to intervene in a bid to prevent the club from Premier League relegation.
Rovers' 1-0 loss to Wigan on Monday night however ensured their 11-season spell in England's top-flight had come to an end, and Hunt's letter is cause for major consternation at the Lancashire club.
The letter, obtained by the Sporting Intelligence website, details financial problems afflicting the club and suggests there is a divide between the owners and other executives over the future of much-maligned manager Steve Kean.
Addressed to the club's owner, Anuradha Desai, Hunt also advises her to allow him to preside over the running of the club.
Dated 21 December 2011, the document was penned just hours after Rovers' 2-1 home loss to Bolton Wanderers. It was one of a series of poisonous atmospheres at Ewood Park, as vitriol rained down on Kean.
The Scot has even been accompanied by a bodyguard on trips into Blackburn, such has been the animosity towards his stewardship.
And Hunt, who laid out a 10-point plan, candidly informed Mrs Desai of his no confidence vote for Kean and claimed the players "no longer want to play for him".
It says: “Publicly I have been asked to support the manager and I always have as I personally like Steve. I have supported him from the start and have been desperate for him to do well. However, I am now of the opinion that it isn’t working and he is ready to go.
“He has lost the crowd and as a result of this evening’s game has lost the dressing room as well – the players no longer want to play for him. It is a shame and disappointing but we must act now to save the club. The board should be asked their opinion in who should be the new manager.”
Hunt also stressed the need for the owners to visit Ewood Park more often and warned of possible Premier League intervention.
“I am also concerned that the Premier League will intervene soon as they may take the view that their brand is being tarnished by association too. It is all reparable of course but we must start to act now by building bridges with fans and the media as above."