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Just six months ago, Crystal Palace celebrated winning their first major trophy when they beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
That triumph earned the Eagles a place in Europe but they have struggled to find the balance between competing in the Conference League and performing domestically.
Palace have failed to win any of their four Premier League matches that followed on from a European night, including Sunday's 2-1 loss at home to Manchester United.
Manager Oliver Glasner believes a lack of serious investment in the squad, having sold talisman Eberechi Eze to Arsenal, is coming back to bite them.
"We missed a couple of chances in July and August, in the transfer window, to make it easier for us but again we will stick together and make it better." Glasner told BBC Match of the Day.
Palace brought in a club-record £60m for the England forward but failed to reinvest.
They made six permanent signings and one loan addition, with their biggest outlay going on Spain forward Yeremy Pino, who joined in a deal worth up to £26m.
"If you play European football for the first time in your history, you should invest and not save," Glasner added.
"I think January is too late [to add]. We will have played more than 50 percent of our games.
"Everything was pretty clear and I didn't say anything but today I think it is also time to speak about it that we missed the chance to play an even better season in the summer."
Speaking on TNT Sports, he added: "We are still in very good positions but the chance to play an even better season we threw away in the summer."
It is not all doom and gloom for Palace, though.
Sunday's defeat left them sitting ninth in the Premier League but only two points shy of fifth-placed Brighton.
They have won two and lost two in the Conference League and remain in the mix for a spot in the knockout phase, while they are through to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.
But Glasner fears the fixture pile-up is starting to take a toll and is worried a combination of fatigue and injuries could see them fade away.
Ismaila Sarr has been one of their standout players in 2025-26, scoring eight goals across all competitions, but went off injured shortly before half-time against United.
The Senegal forward is also set to depart for international duty when the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) gets under way next month.
"His ankle is quite swollen," Glasner told TNT Sports when asked about Sarr.
"We know that we will miss him for a couple of weeks. Now it looks like we miss him for more weeks.
"It is tough because we have no profile like him. That is what I am talking about and it is not surprising that he will go to Afcon."
Despite not heavily reinforcing the squad over the summer, Palace did manage to retain the services of captain Marc Guehi.
The England defender was on the verge of joining Liverpool on deadline day but a £35m deal fell through, with some reports suggesting Glasner threatened to walk if the sale was sanctioned.
Glasner, who has a deal until the summer of 2026, later refuted those claims and said there were no "bad tensions" with chairman Steve Parish.
Guehi is also out of contract in June could leave for free if he does not sign a new deal.
Austrian Glasner arrived at Palace with a growing reputation after enjoying success in Germany - winning the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt - and has continued to deliver in England.
Manchester United were said to be interested in the 51-year-old over the summer when there were considerations over the future of boss Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford.
It is clear that Glasner has a winning mentality but feels he is being held back by a lack of depth within the squad.
"Patience is not something for me, we want to succeed and we want to win games in every competition," Glasner said.
"The club has to get the resources to get this done. Because this is the progress and if we don't want progress, OK, then stop playing."
