If the curlers of Canada are as void of morality as the Swedes would have you believe, then Bruce Mouat may wish to switch off the television when the fate of his British team is being decided on Thursday morning.

In order to survive to the semi-finals, Mouat finds himself in the unusual situation of possessing zero control, with Team GB having played all nine of their round-robin matches and entirely reliant on results elsewhere.

For now, they have a place in the top four, but will be eliminated it if both Italy and Norway win their final matches against Switzerland and Canada respectively. 

The chances of that happening are unlikely – the Swiss and Canadians top the table.

But therein lies a possibility that was put to Mouat on Wednesday, after his team trounced the USA 9-2 in their must-win showdown: what if the Swiss and Canadians don’t fancy going all-out for the wins, given the British are the reigning world champions and showing a belated sign of form here?

A scurrilous prospect, surely, but one that might take on a new light after the cheating row that garnered worldwide attention over the weekend, when Canada were repeatedly accused of bending the rules by Sweden and fiery f-words were exchanged across the ice.

For all his stresses in Cortina, Mouat cannot see the scenario materialising. He said: ‘I don't think that's in the spirit of the Olympics at all. 

'And knowing the Swiss guys and Canadian guys extremely well, they're competitors. I don't see that being an option.

‘It wouldn't cross my mind if I was in their position because at the end of the day, if you want to be the best, you've got to beat the best.’

For the time being, Mouat can at least reflect on taking the fight to the wire and, indeed, preserving the possibility of a great escape that seemed fanciful when they were hammered by Canada on Tuesday. 

Their performance against the US a day later marked a substantial upgrade for the team of Mouat, Bobby Lammie, Grant Hardie and Hammy McMillan, who collectively won bronze four years ago.

McMillan said: ‘After everything that's happened this week, we finished on a high. Morale's high. If we do qualify, we'll go into the semis in a great state of mind.’