It is an hour after Leicester City’s 4-1 home defeat by Crystal Palace. Seven defeats in nine matches for Claude Puel, Jamie Vardy has punched a dressing-room door in a rage, and the wheels are in motion for the club to make their move for Brendan Rodgers.

Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, the Leicester vice-chairman, has watched the Palace humiliation in Thailand. Puel is sacked the following morning and negotiations are soon under way with Celtic.

Two days later Rodgers is appointed as manager, after compensation of just under £9 million is agreed, and the transformation under one of English football’s finest coaches has been remarkable.

On Wednesday, Rodgers will complete his first year in charge with Leicester third in the Premier League and seemingly on course to bring European nights back to the King Power Stadium.

The impact has been significant, and Rodgers has raised standards and expectations to such a level that Leicester are now viewed as legitimate challengers for the top four.

They have occupied the space between the elite and the “best of the rest” for longer than anyone, and when their opportunity came in the 2015/16 season they emphatically took it. While they may never repeat that glorious title win, Rodgers’s mission was to make seasons like this one the norm, and he has achieved that well ahead of schedule.