TODAY, Alex McLeish will be waiting to see if the rain abates sufficiently to allow him to take charge of his first match as manager of Nottingham Forest – and to take the first steps towards quelling the storm of criticism that greeted his appointment.
But, in different circumstances, it could easily have been the 25th game of his City Ground tenure. He could already have had his feet under the table; he might already have won over the club's supporters.
Back in the summer, the Scotsman was asked if he was interested in the Forest job, but declined the opportunity as he looked to recharge his batteries following a draining, difficult spell at Aston Villa.
But, having had a much needed break from the game, McLeish was not about to turn down the chance for a second time.
"I was sounded out back in the summer. It was not directly by Forest, but there was contact with an agent," said McLeish.
"I was asked if I would be interested and I said no, because I wanted to take a break from the game. I seriously had to do that, at that point.
"I did need a break. I wanted to get a holiday, because we had not had one in a while. I wanted to get some vitamin D back into the body and recharge the batteries. I think most people in life would understand that.
"But I got another phone call about the job and it felt right. We had January plans but sometimes you have to drop everything when an opportunity like this comes along."
While McLeish had to cancel holiday plans, the flip side of the equation is that Sean O'Driscoll, his predecessor, now finds himself with plenty of time on his hands, after being sacked with his side just a single point off the play-off places, five months into the role.
"I do feel sympathy, of course I do. It is a cruel game we are in," said McLeish.
"I always tell the players they are in the best part of the job, because they are playing and can affect things. I always tell them not to look back in 40 years time and wish you had tried a little bit harder. Do it now. Enjoy it."
On Boxing Day, after the 4-2 thumping of Leeds, the club's owners, the Al Hasawi family, did pledge there would be funds available to the manager for new signings in January.
Nobody knew, at that stage, the manager would be McLeish, rather than O'Driscoll. But the former Birmingham, Villa and Rangers manager is hoping to add to the Reds squad.
"We can hopefully add to what we have got; we can hopefully enhance the quality we have got," he said. "I have no doubt about that.
"Having worked with a high quality Rangers side and having had good footballing sides at Hibernian and Motherwell, the bottom line is getting quality into your squad.
"The biggest single thing from the players is attitude. If the players attitude to hard work is there, then the quality will follow it anyway.
"We will look at the squad and talk to the recruitment people at the club and decide who might be able to help us."
There could also be an influx of staff at the club, with McLeish's long-time coach and assistant Peter Grant expected to join Forest. But Rob Kelly and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink are also expected to stay on.
And, if the game against Palace does go ahead today – with a 9.30am pitch inspection planned – Kelly and Hasselbaink will be in charge.
"I am planning to sit in the stand anyway, given that Rob and Jimmy have been training the team and doing the tactical stuff. It would not be much use me sitting on the bench and asking questions," said McLeish.
"I know the players, I have shaken their hands. I am in charge officially, but I am not going to interfere with Rob. I have no plans to change anything at the moment, with the staff. My first impression of Jimmy and Rob was excellent.
"Sometimes a new broom sweeps clean, but sometimes it is not right to rip out an infrastructure; things that have been in place for a while. I do want to bring my own staff in over time and I am hoping that Peter Grant will come in over the weekend.
"In terms of team selection, I spoke to Rob about it and asked what he would have done had I not been here – and he said exactly what I expected, which is to name an unchanged side.
"Barring any injuries or illnesses, that is what will happen. I know I am giving Palace my team when I say that. But that is the plan. I don't think it would have been right to change things and confuse the players. If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
As he faces a barrage of difficult questions, McLeish does not duck any, but responds with a sense of realism and a warm sense of humour. The Scotsman is too experienced; too wily not to recognise the fact he does have a job to do when it comes to winning over the Forest supporters.
But he is also long enough in the tooth to know that, if his side win football matches, that may not be an issue for long.
"I am looking forward to the challenge, I feel as though I have the experience in my locker to do a good job at Forest," he said. "You just have to get the fans behind the team and keep producing the kind of performance that win games.
"I suppose you could have nine positives on your CV and one negative and some people will chose to look at the negative. As long as people judge you in a fair way when they are judging you, that is fine.
"It is a great opportunity for me, this job. If we can get to the Premier League with Forest, it will be another big achievement in my career.
"I cannot emphasise enough how great an opportunity this is. It is a great opportunity. I did feel that another one would come along for me.
"I felt confident I would get back in the game at a good level. I had offers to go abroad, even in the last week or so. But I felt I wanted to try to secure another decent job in England, before I would contemplate that.
"I could not go abroad with my complexion anyway. I got sun burnt this morning and it was freezing!
"Now the aim is to get this club back into the Premier League and, if we do get them up, I believe we would get the backing to keep them there."
But, for McLeish, the first step is to earn the backing of supporters. And a win over Palace would not be a bad way to start.
