Sean Dyche is not the same picture of agitation at Burnley this season. He is not as downcast about their prospects, not as openly incensed with inaction in the transfer market.
Yet that does not mean to say he is content. He realises new faces are required, particularly in the wide areas, where there remains an over-reliance on Dwight McNeil and constant concerns over Johann Berg Gudmundsson's potential for injuries.
Both walk into any team in the bottom half but Dyche requires more depth, with Lyon's Maxwel Cornet one of a number under consideration before the window closes.
The Clarets manager insisted that 'nothing is imminent'.
Signing Cornet would represent a real shift in direction at Turf Moor. The 24-year-old French winger — who can also operate at left back — would be the club's first senior foreign signing since Steven Defour arrived from Anderlecht in 2016.
Cornet, valued at £13.5million, is quick and has an eye for goal, scoring four times in three Champions League ties against Manchester City. But there remains work to be done, and attention could yet turn elsewhere.
'We want more competitive players coming off the bench from wide areas,' said Dyche. 'We need to find quality.'
That was evident on Saturday when Burnley found themselves chasing a game they ought to have wrapped up long before Neal Maupay and Alexis Mac Allister flipped the day.
A paucity of options — two strikers coming on but the game's pattern remaining unchanged — was obvious again.
The owners, ALK Capital, are restructuring the club with major changes. They are currently without a technical director, chief executive, academy director and even head of communications.
But ultimately they will be judged, in the short-term at least, on the funds provided to Dyche — yet to sign his new contract.
Nathan Collins at £12m from Stoke looks smart business yet he is an understudy at centre half and is not enough alongside new second-choice goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey.
Brighton, however, may have struck on a defensive solution by way of the returning Shane Duffy.
His wretched Celtic loan forgotten, Duffy stood tall on his first Premier League appearance for over a year in the wake of the £50m exit of Ben White to Arsenal.
'Burnley ask a lot of questions and he was immense,' said Brighton's Graham Potter. 'He's come back from his disappointing experience in Scotland and has been fantastic. He has a great attitude and professionalism.'