The unimaginable is unfolding in the Zimbabwe Premier League, where 21-time champions Dynamos are in the throes of a relegation dogfight going into the last seven matches of the campaign.
Dynamos went down 1-0 to Harare City on Sunday for their tenth defeat of a truly disastrous campaign which has yielded just seven wins in 26 matches to leave them sitting two points shy of the relegation places.
Lloyd Mutasa's team have been so poor, that they've averaged less than a goal a game so far this term. Their goal difference of minus eight will count against them in the final relegation matrix.
This, clearly, is unfamiliar territory for Dembare, a club more accustomed to the thrills and adrenalin which come with a successful title push than the agony and anxiety of a relegation battle.
So can Mutasa, the same man who has presided over the decay, mastermind the great escape?
Recent results suggest this could prove a tall order, with Dynamos posting just two wins over a nine-match stretch which has included draws against fellow relegation strugglers Yadah, Chapungu and Shabanie Mine to further underscore the gravitas of their predicament.
Dynamos are tied with Chapungu and Bulawayo Chiefs on 30 points, two above Nichrut, who occupy the last of the relegation places.
Just above are Yadah, with 31 points. Any one of the five teams could go down.
Former Zimbabwe midfielder Mutasa has chopped and changed his team in search of a winning formula, and even went as far as reconciling with problem child Denver Mukamba while also signing up former Warriors forward Kingston Nkhatha.
The grim sequence has however persisted, with any pair of promising results inevitably followed by a chain of disastrous performances.
The league programme takes a pause this weekend to pave way for the Chibuku Super Cup first round, where Dynamos are at home to Bulawayo City. Thereafter, the battle for survival resumes for the Harare giants, and their performances in the next five matches could prove crucial.
First up is the visit of Bulawayo Chiefs, followed by a trip to champions FC Platinum. Dynamos will then play Black Rhinos, Herentals and Triangle, three mid-table outfits who have been punching above their weight.
To be clear, Mutasa has the resources to put together a competitive unit and he has repeatedly said so himself, starting with the bold early-season declaration that he would be gunning for the title.
"As Dynamos, we play to win the league title and having come second last term, it only makes sense for us to try and win the league this term," Mutasa told the Herald in February.
"I am very comfortable with the players I have at my disposal," he added. "I have all those whom I want to be part and parcel of my team. I believe they will deliver."
Later in July, following a particularly poor first-half of the season, Mutasa again made it his goal to ensure that Dynamos are "the best team in the remainder of the season," as per the Herald.
There are several reasons for Dynamos' woes, but it is also telling that Mutasa is apparently still to settle on his best team at this late stage of the campaign, with the constant tinkering inevitably affecting the side's rhythm.
This has been particularly so in midfield, where the likes of James Marufu, Gift Saunyama, Marvelous Mukumba, Blessing Moyo, Kudzanai Dhemere and Brett Amidu have been rotating almost on a weekly basis in an approach which does not reflect positively on the coach's judgement.
Dynamos' relegation would be catastrophic, not just for the club's owners and its fervent following, but for the entire league structure.
Here is a club that has thoroughly dominated the landscape since its formation by disgruntled black stars at the height of colonial segregation back in 1963 to immediately become a bastion for nationalist sentiment in the sporting realm.
Up to this day, Dynamos' sheer popularity defies logic, and while other clubs envy this overwhelming dominance on the terraces, they heartily welcome the hefty get takings which come with an encounter against the 'People's Team'.
Dynamos' position as the aristocrats of local football has however come under threat in recent years as financially stable clubs like FC Platinum, Chicken Inn and Ngezi Platinum have surfaced.
The inherent administrative chaos of a club which still has no fixed physical address have not helped, yet Dynamos have relied on their sheer size and trademark resilience to defy the odds and remain relevant.
Over the last seven seasons, they've won four titles, while emerging runners up twice.
This however, has been a season like no other. The fans had all along hoped the engine would eventually kick into gear, that at some stage their team would start moving up the standings into mid-table safety.
Instead, the giant has continued to drift south towards danger and now Mutasa is fast running out of time.