The international break brought a non-stop diet of bad news for Coventry City fans who, just a week earlier had seen the club part company with yet another manager after Aidy Boothroyd's sacking following a poor run of form stretching back to before Christmas.
Chairman Ray Ranson stepped down, mysterious owners SISU finally came clean about the club’s perilous financial situation which has seen them mortgage one of their final remaining assets (the Ryton training complex) and talk of administration or even liquidation refuses to go away.
And yet those who came to the Ricoh Arena on Saturday left in good spirits thanks to a caretaker manager who has made himself a fans favourite in the space of a few short weeks despite presiding over a mixed bag of results (1 win, 1 draw and 1 defeat). Indeed just 24 hours after taking charge he galvanised the Sky Blues into one of their most positive attacking displays of the season as they earned a point away to play-off chasing Burnley.
Andy Thorn is that most pleasing of football contradictions; the no-nonsense central defender as a player who, when managing, wants his side to get the ball down and play through their most creative players.
As the club's chief scout since the arrival of Chris Coleman as manager, Thorn is the man responsible for signing many of Coventry's current squad and although not about to say so in public has shown with his tactical changes that he felt Boothroyd's style of play was not getting the best out of them.
David Bell is a prime example having been handed a much freer role under Thorn. His play-making performance against Watford on Saturday was unrecognisable from previous displays as an ineffective winger under both Coleman and Boothroyd.
"That's how we want to play and that's how we will play,” said Thorn after the weekend win.
"We needed to do something today to put a smile back on everyone's faces and it was certainly an entertaining game so I'm sure those that watched it enjoyed it.
Boothroyd's departure wasn't celebrated. Most supporters were well aware of the financial constraints he was working under which prevented any January signings at a time when City were still in the right half of the Championship table.
His short spell in charge produced a side that was competitive in every game bar one (a home defeat to Bristol City) and although Queens Park Rangers, Cardiff, Swansea and Leeds took maximum points from their games with Coventry they were made to fight all the way for their victories.
But the style of play employed meant Boothroyd’s exit wasn't mourned either. Teams seemed to have sussed out what to expect from Coventry when they met them for a second time and the likes of Gary McSheffrey and Carl Baker did seem constrained by their roles in the system.
He could justifiably point to a lack of time and injury problems while his departure may also have had something to do with boardroom politics, being as he was the choice as manager of the outgoing Ranson.
In straitened economic times however Boothroyd’s was a brand of austerity football that when not producing results was never going to attract back some of the missing supporters who have made the Ricoh Arena such a depressingly sparse venue at times this season.
Thorn may not last beyond the season (although he is now odds on with the bookmakers to become the next permanent manager) but perhaps freed from the long-term pressures associated with the job he has already succeeded in making the prospect of the next home game a more pleasurable one for Coventry City fans.
