Herve Renard's long-term assistant coach Patrice Beaumelle believes that the newly appointed Tunisia coach must prioritise the North Africans' disastrous defensive record before anything else at the FIFA World Cup.
Renard has been parachuted in to manage the team midway through their World Cup campaign, after Tunisia opted to part ways with former head coach Sabri Lamouchi in the aftermath of their opening 5-1 Group F defeat by Sweden on Sunday.
Former Ivory Coast head coach Beaumelle has backed Renard to oversee an immediate improvement in the Carthage Eagles and maybe... just maybe... pull off a miracle survival act.
"When I saw Herve's appointment after Tunisia's first match, my initial reaction was one of sadness and disappointment for Sabri, who is a friend of mine and someone I respect greatly," Beaumelle told ESPN.
"As a coach, it always hurts to see a colleague and fellow professional dismissed after just one match in a competition.
"I feel sad for Sabri, but happy for Herve that he has the opportunity to take part in this World Cup."
Lamouchi's departure represents the first time in history that a national side has parted ways with a head coach after just one match of a World Cup, with 57-year-old Renard joining the team on Tuesday.
This leaves him with only three full days with his new charges before they face Japan in their second group game on Saturday.
"He has nothing to lose, even though it's a risky move to come in at the start of a tournament like this," Beaumelle continued.
"If he manages to turn things around, all credit will go to him, but at this stage of his career, he has nothing to lose - except maybe the chance to create a surprise.
"He likes that kind of challenge, and is used to this kind of situation, so why not? Why not indeed?"
Tunisia could be his toughest assignment yet, with the Carthage Eagles' confidence at an all-time low after the 5-0 pre-tournament friendly mauling by Belgium, followed by their opening rout by Sweden.
"Firstly, he'll want to stop the bleeding," Beaumelle added. "Conceding 10 goals in the last two games, and eleven over the last three, is something he'll want to put an end to.
"He's someone who works heavily on the psychological side of the game, so I'm sure he'll give this Tunisia team a lot of courage and confidence in an effort to stop the bleeding and concede far, far fewer goals.
"That's the main idea he'll focus on: stopping the bleeding, and perhaps making the team defensively solid so that they can look to strike on the counter attack. That's what he managed to do with Saudi Arabia, and in the past with other national teams."
Beaumelle worked alongside Renard during his time with Zambia, where the pair pulled off arguably the most remarkable underdog tournament victory in history when they defeated Ivory Coast in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations final.
The management team then reunited with the Ivory Coast, where they masterminded an end to the Elephants' series of AFCON heartaches by dispatching Ghana on penalties in the 2015 final in Bata.
Together, they then qualified Morocco for the 2018 World Cup - ending a 20-year wait to reach the tournament - with Renard consistently pulling off historic achievements and salvaging unpromising situations during his career, developing a reputation as a unique football firefighter.
This will be his fourth World Cup - including the 2023 Women's World Cup with France - with Renard also overseeing Saudi Arabia's remarkable 2022 giant killing against Argentina in Qatar.
As well as the team's defensive failings, Renard must address disgruntlement in the camp, with midfielder Hannibal Mejbri criticising the team in the aftermath of the Sweden loss, and fullback Yan Valery showing clear dissent towards the manager after being substituted in their opener.
"I've told them they have to keep their heads up," the Frenchman said in a brief press conference on Tuesday, upon his arrival in Mexico. "You're here to represent your country."
Renard also has a small window of opportunity to try to salvage something from the Carthage Eagles' seventh World Cup campaign, with impressive Japan and Netherlands upcoming over the next eight days.
Beaumelle believes that the adversity can get the best out of his friend and long-time collaborator: "He's a man who thrives on challenges, a charismatic figure, and someone who likes to be the leader of the group.
"I think he'll have a strong psychological impact. We can all expect to see a Tunisia team that's highly motivated and fired up.
"They've got difficult matches against Japan and Netherlands, but this is football, and anything is possible. He doesn't have time to change everything from a tactical or footballing standpoint, but he'll try to make a very strong impact psychologically."
Tunisia' Group F campaign resumes against Japan in Monterrey on Saturday, before they face the Netherlands in Kansas City next Thursday.
The Carthage Eagles have never before escaped the group stage in six previous attempts at the tournament, having won just three of their 19 tournament matches to date.