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At Monday morning's team meeting, the Harlequins coaches addressed a few pertinent defensive issues from last Saturday's hammering by Northampton.
'We need to trust one another,' was the micro-message from Jason Gilmore.
He pulled up clips of Quins players biting in on Saints fly-half Fin Smith, demonstrating a lack of faith in the man inside to make the tackle. It left the defensive line short in the wide channels and Northampton racked up 66 points.
It was a valid tactical discussion, but everyone knows it will take more than a couple of defensive tweaks to transform Harlequins' fortunes.
In the aftermath of the defeat by Saints, the club's CEO Laurie Dalrymple volunteered himself to conduct a round of interviews to discuss the club's dire straits - eighth of 10 in the PREM Rugby table with seven defeats from nine games. He stressed the impact of their head coach Danny Wilson being poached by Wales days before the season began, but the cracks were appearing long before that.
As Daily Mail Sport reported at the start of the season, former No 9 Danny Care had to step in to pull Wilson apart from one of his players and split up a training ground bust-up last term. It was not the only flare-up and sources within the camp believe Wilson jumped before he was pushed - no pun intended.
Northampton ran all over Harlequins last weekend, thumping them 66-21
The club are in dire straits - eighth of 10 in the PREM Rugby table with seven defeats from nine games
Former No 9 Danny Care had to step in to pull former head coach Danny Wilson apart from one of his players during a training ground bust-up last term
As stalwart prop Joe Marler told us last month: 'Part of the reason I retired was because the club were going in a different direction that I didn't necessarily agree with in terms of their playing style. Lo and behold, Danny left. I didn't want to say, “I told you so”, but…'
The club has had five different head coaches since 2020 and Wilson's style did not marry up with Harlequins' culture of playing to entertain. There was no succession plan in place when the Welsh Rugby Union offered him a job last summer, despite the writing being on the wall.
Daily Mail Sport understands that club legend Nick Evans was offered a coaching job in the southern hemisphere last season, closer to his home in New Zealand, but the board would not entertain the idea of him leaving. Toby Booth and Sean Long joined in consultancy roles and Gilmore was shunted into the position of front man.
'We have somehow arrived in an environment where unions can helicopter in, borrow employees, unsettle them and then come in and get them at a later date when clubs are in a vulnerable position,' Dalrymple told The Telegraph this week.
'Danny went on the Japan tour in late June and we did not have any contact from the WRU until September and during that time, he is still our employee. Jason has taken on a situation that was not of his engineering. We effectively gave him the keys to someone else's car, but asked him to drive it and keep it serviced when he has had very little impact on the construct of that plan and how it is meant to be delivered.'
Insiders say the coaching structure has a 'lack of accountability' with blurred lines between responsibilities. Booth has experience of being the head man but his focus has primarily been on the lineout.
Various coaching CVs are currently circulating at both Harlequins and Gloucester, with Richard Cockerill and Steve Diamond offering extensive experience in English club rugby. Former Harlequins players Mike Friday and Nick Easter also have international coaching experience.
Club legend Mike Brown is another name pushed forward by some of his contemporaries. Brown, 40, has completed a Masters degree in sports directorship and is currently working with Esher RFC in the fourth tier of English rugby. Daily Mail Sport understands he has offered to come into the club for free but nothing has yet materialised.
The likes of Richard Cockerill, the former Edinburgh and Georgia head coach, are available for work
Harlequins legend and 2021 title winner Mike Brown has put himself forward to help out but has had no response
'There are too many yes men at the club,' said one source. 'They should go out and get Mike in some sort of management capacity. He knows the club inside out and is more qualified than any ex-players. He's someone who doesn't take any bulls***.
'There's a bit of friction between him and some people at the club because of how he left but they should look beyond that.'
Another source added: 'People at the club have been hiding behind the Quins Way. But the Quins Way isn't just about being show ponies. In defence, none of them want to get off the line and smack someone.
'They all want to go for the jackal. Not one wants to get the ball and run over someone. Sometimes it seems like Marcus Smith is the only one who shows any passion.'
With the exception of prop Fin Baxter, the club's England stars have struggled to progress their international careers. While the club have been pioneers commercially, their men's rugby department has fallen behind. Ticket sales dropped for this year's Big Game at Twickenham, and the impact of that fixture will subsequently leave a dent in the club's financial accounts.
Eyebrows have risen at the number of soft tissue injuries within the squad, raising questions about their conditioning to play a high-tempo game. The club's recruitment and retention has lacked a clear strategy.
They have lost academy products such as Nathan Jibulu and Lennox Anyanwu, reflecting badly on the transition process to senior rugby. They have also failed to replace high-profile players such as Springbok dynamo Andre Esterhuizen and Marler, who were key contributors towards dominating collisions and set-pieces.
Players have been disheartened by the club's negotiation approach, with complaints that renewals are left until late in the campaign to drive down prices.
'Sometimes it seems like Marcus Smith is the only one who shows any passion'
With the exception of prop Fin Baxter, the club's England stars have struggled to progress their international careers
Quins have also failed to replace high-profile players such as Springbok dynamo Andre Esterhuizen
Recruitment for next season is already underway but the lack of clarity around a coaching structure makes the club a less attractive proposal. George Furbank is close to agreeing to a move – although he was not listed among some Northampton departees on Thursday morning.
One source believes a double-figure number of players – ranging from academy to senior level – could leave Harlequins this summer.
'We're looking at how we can get the most bang for our buck and the boys are aware of that,' Gilmore said this week. 'Next year we're looking at what is the ideal number of contracts and where do we put our spend.
'One of the changes we're looking at is potentially reducing the number of contracts. You need the right number of contracts so you're not scrambling if you get injuries, but we're looking to see if we can be more efficient.'
Gilmore's words left his players scrambling for answers. There is no doubt that Harlequins will rise again – Bath were in a similar position a few years ago – but it will take some major repair works to get there.