Jermain Defoe got feelings of time's past when pulling on his Rangers colours again - but the same excited feeling doesn't follow him to a managerial opportunity currently on the go.
The forward scored for a Light Blues legends side during the international break in a charity match versus at World XI at Ibrox. It was a chance for Defoe - who retired last year after leaving the club for a short stint at Sunderland - to run out in Glasgow again and he admits it was a thrill to get into his matchday mentality again.
A loud Ibrox made his day all much sweeter and he told his Outside The Box podcast it was an experience he appreciated. Defoe explained: "I was buzzing as I flew up the night before the game and I remember getting in the hotel, having something to eat. All of a sudden I got these feelings back. I don't know how to explain it, a mentality shift, I don't know, the focus. Even though it was an exhibition, you speak to any player, no game is a friendly and you want to score.
"Woke up in the morning and I was buzzing. I had the same feeling I had when I was playing and hearing that roar again was the best feeling ever."
Now focusing on his steps to becoming a manager, the former striker is a youth coach at another of his former clubs, Tottenham. It's been a period of turbulence at Spurs with manager Antonio Conte recently moving on.
They are without a boss and on a live BBC broadcast, the possibility of Defoe becoming the main man was floated. But Record Sport columnist and former Premier League winner Chris Sutton thinks it's too early.
Sutton said: "It's about someone's ability to do the job. Jermain Defoe might end up being a top class manager, he had a brilliant playing career and just gone into coaching.
"But I think a lot of Spurs fans if they did make the appointment as too big a risk. Although that's not taking anything away from him, I suspect he might need a bit more of an apprenticeship with his coaching."
It was something the Rangers favourite lapped up, as he responded to Sutton in agreement: "He said that? It's quite positive and I appreciate that.
"I don't think you need to rush into it. I have said it, I don't want to jump in too soon but getting the Spurs job now, that's a bit crazy isn't it?"
