Jim Magilton prefers to adopt a 'no regrets' mantra when it comes to football.
The 52-year-old has been enjoying a period of reflection and self-scrutiny since parting company with Dundalk in November.
Magilton had quit the Irish FA to become the Lilywhites' new sporting director back in December 2020.
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His time at Oriel Park would last just 11 months, with the 52-year-old exiting the club just days after it came under new ownership.
"I have no regrets. Never any regrets," Magilton told Belfast Live's That's What I Call Football podcast.
"Simply because the (IFA) academy had been established and the coach education was in very safe hands, and once you reach an end and expend so much energy in achieving something, for me it was always 'the next goal'.
"Knowing I had handed the whole IFA experience to very safe hands, that was job done for me.
"And then the next one comes along, and when I spoke to Peak6 and the chairman they sold me the idea of Dundalk. It was so exciting and appealed to me. And I went with it.
"It was a conscious decision and I was happy with my decision. Timing is very important in this game, and you are literally one phone call away from something happening."
Magilton - capped 52 times by Northern Ireland - spent seven years with the Irish FA, overseeing the development of the association's JD Club NI elite player development programme and the opening and operation of the IFA JD Academy.
But when Dundalk's American owners Peak6 came calling about a new sporting director role at Oriel Park, he says the opportunity to return to "day to day" football was too much to turn down.
"I made a conscious decision to leave the Irish FA. I had a fantastic time there and did what I set out to do, and left it in good hands," he added.
"But I reached goals and I decided for a real change and go back into the day to day of senior football and management, and a new role for me.
"And the experience was fabulous. I loved every second of it. One thing I will say about Dundalk is how passionate the people and fans are, and how it is an integral part of the community.
"It gave me an unbelievable insight into the other aspects of running a football club. And it is an appreciation of the volunteers and staff, the work that goes on behind the scenes into making a club work.
"And working with the FAI and other clubs, it was a great experience for me."
He added: "It was a steep learning curve.
"It comes down to managing people and relationships. With the restrictions that Covid brought, I never actually physically met my employers. Everything was done on Zoom which was very difficult.
"It is difficult to build up relationships like that, and in the end it came to a point where communication was very difficult. And ultimately when the takeover came, it was inevitable I would leave."
Magilton could probably file his experience at Dundalk under 'eventful', with his time at Oriel punctuated by the departures of managers Shane Keegan and Filippo Giovagnoli - a double blow that saw the former midfielder forced to act as interim boss last April.
It was a tumultuous period for the club, and a steep learning curve for its sporting director.
"It was incredible returning to the dugout," he said.
"Working with that calibre of player, it makes life easier. I had fantastic help. Stephen McDonnell, who I knew briefly because my two nephews played for him at Warrenpoint.
"We brought him in as academy manager and he helped me as first team coach. He was incredible working with the players.
"Then you have the adrenalin rush of selecting teams, and the analysis during games, which all fed back into me. So the juices were flowing again, and by the end of it I was really enjoying it.
"Albeit the other side of my job was looking after the day to day running of the club.
"The club then made the decision to appoint a manager which was the right decision. But I enjoyed it, and it was something I didn't expect."
Despite qualifying for the Europa League group stages and winning the FA Cup, Dundalk would go on to finish sixth in the league..
It was a disappointing return from a squad of players that promised so much.
"There was a huge turnover of players during the close season, and then we had to integrate new players, and a lot of foreign players. And it was done amid a worldwide pandemic," Magilton said.
"Bringing international players into the town was very difficult. They were housebound and had nothing to do a lot of the time.
"A sluggish start to the season didn't help, then the manager left which didn't help. And it was a case of catch-up.
"There was a lot of uncertainty, and a lack of confidence which was quite unbelievable given the experience and quality of the squad.
"So it was always going to be a transitional period. The highs of qualifying for the Europa League were huge, and the expectation was huge, and unfortunately we couldn't deliver."
While admitting he was disappointed to leave Dundalk after less than a year, Magilton accepts it was the "time to move on".
His departure followed the sale of the club to a local consortium led by former owner Andy Connolly.
"There was great experience coming back into the club, people who knew the club inside out. You knew it was getting handed over to people who have a deep connection to Dundalk," Magilton said.
"I would like to have stayed on, because I never like to leave a job. I am always pretty consistent in tat I have a period of time before I leave, so this was new to me.
"But it was done very amicably and I wish nothing but success to Dundalk. It is part of my CV, and football teaches you many great things, both on and off the pitch, about your character and resilience."
As for the future, Magilton hopes to return to football at some stage, adding: "I am eager to get back in, whether that is coaching a youth team or even my local teams.
"It is a drug, and we are all captivated by the game."
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