Matt Ritchie had barely kicked a ball in anger for several months when the Newcastle United stalwart arranged to meet former Bournemouth team-mate Tommy Elphick for lunch a couple of weeks ago.
"I feel such a big part of it all," Ritchie told his friend as they discussed life at St James' Park.
It was an illuminating comment. Despite barely featuring under Eddie Howe in the second half of the season, in part because of injury, Ritchie has remained a key figure behind the scenes at Newcastle, whether it is helping to maintain standards around the training ground or selflessly pushing and supporting his team-mates.
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Indeed, before a ball was even kicked in Newcastle's game at Norwich City last month, it was Ritchie geeing up his team-mates in the away dressing room. Similarly, a few weeks later, against Arsenal, it was Ritchie who told those around him that if they can't get up for an atmosphere like this at St James', they should not be playing.
It remains to be seen if Ritchie has played his last game for Newcastle, as Howe gets ruthless, but the 32-year-old is one of a number of long-serving players who will sit down with the Magpies' head coach this week to discuss their future. Elphick had these 'natural conversations' with Howe, himself, during his time at Bournemouth, so what do they entail?
"The one thing with Eddie is all of his players knew, and will know, where they stood," the former Bournemouth captain told ChronicleLive. "He was very open and honest about that.
"He was the first manager that I had who would bring you in a couple of days after the season had finished for an end of season review. He will be doing them now up at Newcastle and these are the times to lay the cards down on the table and prepare the lads for what's coming in the summer.
"Whether it's keeping a slot in the team or trying to gain one, you have a greater understanding of where you lie in the pecking order. He's always very open and honest with where you stand in his group."
Elphick was a key player in Bournemouth's rise from League One to the Premier League under Howe and the defender actually started the Cherries' maiden campaign in the top-flight strongly. However, a troublesome ankle injury disrupted Elphick's season and the captain ultimately made just 14 appearances that year.
A new contract was on the table at the end of the campaign, but Elphick was not going to be guaranteed a place in the starting line-up so the centre-back decided to join Aston Villa after feeling like he had achieved all he set out to do at Bournemouth. However, that emotional final conversation with Howe as Bournemouth skipper certainly did not mark the end of their relationship.
"Listen, the last chat was never the last chat because we have remained in contact ever since," Elphick said. "I would get a call once every two or three months from him just checking in to see how he was and vice-versa and when he was out of work, we were in contact quite a bit.
"This is a ruthless game, but there is a personal side to Ed where he does care about the person and wants to know about you and your life. If he can create a better person, he is quite sure he will create a better player."
Elphick, who is now a coach himself, has been watching on from afar as Howe has transformed Newcastle's fortunes and the 34-year-old can actually see similarities between the job the head coach has done with the Magpies and those early days at Bournemouth - even if these are admittedly very different situations and clubs.
Bournemouth's players, like their Newcastle counterparts, were low on confidence when Howe arrived mid-season for his second spell at the club in 2012. Howe set about reorganising his side, improving fitness and re-establishing a winning mentality and rather than overhauling Bournemouth's style immediately, the head coach gradually introduced a set of core principles with clear instructions as he made his side a hard to beat, hard-working outfit.
In an effort to bring the group closer together, players would stand up on a Friday and speak about their journey to break down barriers while a training leader board was brought in as well as team photographs in the dressing room after wins. Sound familiar?
Perhaps one of the few mysteries left for these Newcastle players is what a Howe pre-season will look like, but you suspect they already have an idea of the gruelling sessions that lie in wait in July.
"It's very intense," Elphick added. "The balls are out from day one but a lot of hard work, double sessions. A lot of it will be centred around the trip away.
"There will be plenty of hard work going in, that's for sure. He was very clever, building in plenty of running within his rotation stuff. There was a lot of disguised running.
"There will still be the hard yards put in with the drills that don't require a ball to get that base fitness up, but a lot of it will be done with the ball. It will be very hard.
"They will all be giving programmes off season to follow quite strictly and there will be no hiding place. You will quickly find out who has been sticking to them and who hasn't and that will be very important to the manager because he will want to hit the ground running from day one."
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