The month was only three days old when Hull City's vice chairman Ehab Allam decided January would either make or break a season. Out went Mike Phelan and in came Marco Silva, the man tasked with inspiring a miracle.
Allam attempted to calm the storm at that point, insisting it would only take "two or three key additions" to keep the Tigers in the Premier League. The rest of January would be spent fine-tuning -- not overhauling -- a squad inherited by the new head coach. Or so went the party line.
As the days count down towards deadline day, the picture could hardly look more different. The KCOM Stadium has already welcomed four new faces since Silva and his backroom team were appointed in the first week of January and it is expected that at least four more will follow.
Oumar Niasse (on loan from Everton), Evandro (signed from Porto), Omar Elabdellaoui (on loan from Olympiakos) and Lazar Markovic (on loan from Liverpool) already make for an eclectic quartet and Silva will continue to scour the continent for further reinforcements.
Ordinarily the flurry of signings would be the cue for excitement and belief, yet the worry is that January is doing untold damage to City's survival prospects.
The Tigers have had just two outstanding players this season, a pair that have consistently delivered, and both will now end the month at rival Premier League clubs. Jake Livermore is already settling into life with West Bromwich Albion following his £10 million move last week and Robert Snodgrass will now join him in heading to the exit door. Bids have been accepted and City are primed to cash in.
Supporters could just about handle Livermore's exit. Central midfield had not been a problem and the money paid by West Brom would come in useful for strengthening elsewhere. Snodgrass, though? That is a deal bereft of all logic.
In a side that has netted just 20 Premier League goals all season, Snodgrass has either scored or created half of them. The Scot's set-pieces have consistently turned games in a flash. Heaven knows where City would be without him.
Attempts to agree a new long-term deal came to nothing before Christmas, with Snodgrass eyeing greater security at the age of 29, but justifying his sale feels as impossible as finding a direct replacement in January.
Final judgements cannot be made on City's baffling strategy until the deadline comes and goes with the deadline on Tuesday, but this already feels like a huge gamble with 16 games remaining this season.
Even if the £20m or so recouped from the sales of Livermore and Snodgrass is quickly reinvested, something Silva has suggested will happen, there are no guarantees another four new faces will make the difference.
If Allam felt it only needed a fine chisel, Silva has opted for a sledgehammer in his rebuilding plans. As many as nine or 10 new signings could have been made by the new head coach by the time the month is out.
There could be untold gems in among the loot, players that take the Premier League by storm, but there will surely be an element of panic during the closing days of the window. This will not be a recruitment drive months in the making. Nor will City hold the aces in negotiations. Clubs, players and agents will all know the plight of the Tigers and rub their hands with glee.
If only January's problems ended with the sale of Livermore and Snodgrass. Having already lost Markus Henriksen until April with a shoulder injury, a player whose loan from AZ Alkmaar was turned into a £3.5m move this month, City have accepted club record signing Ryan Mason will play no further part in his debut season at the KCOM Stadium.
A sickening clash of heads with Gary Cahill in the 2-0 loss at Chelsea saw the midfielder rushed to hospital for emergency surgery on a fractured skull. Although club officials and friends expect Mason to make a full recovery in time, there can be no hurrying him back. Not this season nor next.
Losing the in-form Mason sums up an injury-plagued season that has already accounted for Moses Odubjao and Will Keane, and only adds to the headaches felt by Silva. Central midfield was the one area with depth but Mason, Henriksen and Livermore are no longer options.
The seeds of optimism planted by Silva's arrival have been trampled down by the subsequent loss of personnel and the coming days need to be hugely productive if supporters are to retain belief in an ever-changing squad. A season rests on a knife-edge as Snodgrass packs his bags.