Liverpool's players may look like they are already on the beach, but for Brendan Rodgers the Speedos and sun-cream can wait.
Rather than winding down, Rodgers is facing up to the toughest four months of his Anfield reign.
First, he must prove to owners, Fenway Sports Group, and the growing number of doubting fans that he is still the right man to lead the club over Liverpool’s four remaining games.
Then he must somehow overhaul his under-achievers this summer with a transfer budget of around £30million.
Rodgers may not get the chance to wield his scalpel in an attempt to restore the patient to rude health if he does not arrest an alarming slide that began with a sickening loss at home to Manchester United last month and has since seen defeats to Arsenal, Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-finals and now relegation-threatened Hull.
Hull 1-0 Liverpool in pictures:
Liverpool looked as awful in the 1-0 loss at the KC Stadium on Tuesday as they did during their autumn of discontent, and for some unfathomable reason boss Rodgers turned the clock back to those unhappy days by starting the match with Mario Balotelli up front.
He cannot afford to let that malaise continue - especially not when Jurgen Klopp, who looks such a perfect fit for the type of coach FSG want, is on the market.
Liverpool sit fifth, but are ahead of Tottenham only on goal difference and lead Southampton by a single point. Trailing home in seventh place would prompt uncomfortable questions for Rodgers about the direction in which the club is heading.
Providing he can arrest this slide, the even bigger challenge of rebuilding Liverpool comes in the summer.
Rodgers knows he needs two, possibly three, new forwards.
Liverpool have scored a staggering 54 goals fewer in the Premier League than they did last season and the Ulsterman now knows he cannot rely on Daniel Sturridge’s delicate frame to provide them.
Belgium international Divock Origi is coming in the summer after being bought from Lille a year ago and immediately loaned back, while Danny Ings of Burnley and PSV Eindhiven's Memphis Depay are being targeted.
Rodgers also wants a big striker to plug the gap left unfilled since Luis Suarez left.
But how does he attract someone of the calibre of an Edinson Cavani when he could not do so last summer when he had more cash to spend and the lure of Champions League football, rather than Europa League - at best?
This is the crux of Liverpool’s biggest problem - world-class players are reluctant to sign for them as was demonstrated when Radamel Falcao and Alexis Sanchez snubbed them last summer in favour of Manchester United and Arsenal respectively.
Liverpool were forced to spend big on lesser talents, and in the cases of Balotelli, Rickie Lambert, Lazar Markovic, Dejan Lovren and Adam Lallana it has predominantly not worked.
The other option is for the wise heads of their transfer committee to identify some undervalued nuggets.
This strategy worked in snaffling Philippe Coutinho from Inter Milan for £8.5m in 2013, but Liverpool have now discovered why Chelsea were prepared to let Sturridge go for just £12m.
Manchester City reserve striker Stevan Jovetic would come into this category, and there are some at Liverpool who feel he could blossom at Anfield after two seasons on the fringes at the Etihad.
Rodgers can boost his transfer budget if he can offload the unwanted Balotelli, Lambert, Lucas Leiva and Fabio Borini.
He will also shave around £17m off the wage bill when the contracts of Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson, Brad Jones and Kolo Toure expire.
Johnson claims Liverpool need to make changes - and admits he will be one of them.
The defender, linked with a Bosman move to Italy, said: “It’s the same every year. Every team is going to try to do business in the summer to try and make themselves stronger for the following season. The club needs to do that too.
“The club has got some business to do in the summer, with current players and new players. It’s just about trying to get the squad as strong as possible for the start of next season.”
Johnson, an £18m buy in summer 2009, is going after failing to reach agreement on extending his £120,000-a-week contract and insists he does not want to exit on a low.
“Every season, you want to finish as high as possible in the league. Whether this is my last season or not, you still want to be in or around the top four.”
That remains FSG’s challenge for Rodgers.
The question is, can he deliver?
LIVERPOOL'S SUMMER SURGERY
Going
Steven Gerrard (free) LA Galaxy
Going?
Javier Manquillo (end of loan from Atletico Madrid)
Glen Johnson (free) - Roma?
Lucas Leiva - Inter Milan?
Mario Balotelli - Sampdoria?
Rickie Lambert
Fabio Borini
Brad Jones (free)
Kolo Toure (free)
In
Divock Origi (Lille) £10m
In?
Danny Ings (Burnley) Bosman
Memphis Depay (PSV Eindhoven) £20m
William Carvalho (Sporting Lisbon) £25m
Stevan Jovetic (Manchester City) £10m
LIVERPOOL'S LEAGUE GOALS
2013-14 31: Suarez. 22: Sturridge. 13: Gerrard. 9: Sterling. 7: Skrtel. 4: Coutinho, Henderson. 2: Agger. 1: Moses, Sakho, Allen, Flanagan. Own goals: 5. Total: 101.
2014-15 7: Sterling. 6: Gerrard, Henderson. 4: Coutinho, Sturridge, Lallana. 2: Lambert, Markovic, Moreno. 1: Balotelli, Johnson, Can, Allen, Borini, Skrtel. Own goals: 4. Total: 47.