For more seasons than you may care to remember Aston Villa's main chance of glory came in the form of a good Carling Cup run and certainly, in recent years, it has completely flattered to deceive.
Wednesday evening's League Cup game against Iain Dowie's affluent Championship outfit Queens Park Rangers however, has taken on the tangible air of being bottom on the list of priorities.
Whether it be a sign of the times under the new Villa regime or an oversight on the part of those fronting the regime (Messrs Randy Lerner and Martin O'Neill) remains to be seen.
A competition regarded as something of an inconvenience to certain clubs is usually viewed differently by Villa as it represents the chance to win an invaluable piece of silverware not to mention a direct route into the UEFA Cup.
What it means to Aston Villa's Irish manager is currently unclear.
O'Neill stated prior to the Tottenham game last Monday week that he would be using his entire squad in the seven games that were to follow in the ensuing 21 days.
He is now expected to makes wholesale changes for the tie.
A game at Villa Park against a moderate Championship side would indeed appear to be the opportune time to rotate and give the new recruits plus the fringe players some valuable first team action.
Dumped
But, one only need cast their mind back 12 months to recall how changing the team for the home tie against Leicester in last year's third round led to Villa being unceremoniously dumped out of the competition.
The danger of a similar result occurring again cannot be overlooked.
In the build up to the game left back Nicky Shorey has dismissed the notion of fatigue, claiming the players are 'buzzing' following Sunday's derby victory over West Brom and that they 'all just can't wait to get the next game on.'
Whether or not the manager has enough faith in his current squad to rest key players remains to be seen.
Carlos Cuellar will be pushing for a start as will the likes of Craig Gardner, Moustapha Salifou, Wayne Routledge, Isaiah Osbourne, Zat Knight and Brad Guzan.
However, the unfortunate Steve Sidwell is still unavailable with a knee injury and James Milner is cup tied having played for Newcastle in the last round.
O'Neill and his selection policy keeps us all guessing, but an educated guess would suggest that whatever he does, will more than likely prove to be vindicated. In Martin we trust, it's over to you sir.