They say you should never go back, but Michael O'Neill isn't concerned about legacies or being immortalised in bronze.
The worst kept secret in football was confirmed on Wednesday when it was announced that O'Neill has agreed a five-and-a-half-year contract to become Northern Ireland's new manager.
It sees the 53-year-old return for a second spell at the helm, and if it's anything like the first he could well warrant his own statue outside Windsor Park.
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But while the plaudits still echo from that previous nine-year stint - which saw Northern Ireland qualify for its first major tournament in 30 years - O'Neill insists his only focus is on the future and igniting more stellar memories for the Green and White Army.
"Look, I am not after a statue," O'Neill quipped after his unveiling on Wednesday.
"I look back at the people who have managed Northern Ireland, there haven't been that many. There's people like Bertie Peacock, Terry Neill and people like that. It brings home the significance of the job.
"I am just delighted to get the chance again. I think 72 games in my first spell was a good innings. If I can be here long enough to be here the number of games Billy Bingham managed (118 over two spells), I will be delighted.
"That will suggest I have done a good job.
"It is a special job. There is no doubt about that. I look at some of the coaches working at the World Cup who are still in it. people like Paulo Bento who was the manager of Portugal when we played here.
"You look at Louis van Gaal being back for a third time. He had the lure of coming back.
"It is a special job, and after the World Cup I believe (Ronald) Koeman is coming back to manage the Netherlands as well.
"I think if it is something I passed over at this moment in time, I may have looked back on it with some regret in the future."
Some would argue that O'Neill's legacy is already cemented after leading Northern Ireland to the Euros six years ago.
When he came into the job for the first time in 2011, he inherited a team that had won two of its last 24 matches.
O'Neill went on to win 36 per cent of his 72 games in charge, the best winning percentage of any Northern Ireland boss since the late, great Bingham’s first spell ended in 1971 (40%).
Under his previous tenure Northern Ireland also narrowly missed out on qualification for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, being denied by a contentious penalty decision in the play-off defeat to Switzerland.
O'Neill says his aim is to recreate those stellar memories for fans, but he won't be dining out on former glories.
"I'm not big on legacies," he said.
"What we did in the first phase was we built a team that not only qualified and reached the last-16 but was capable of nearly qualifying again. The objective is to do the same.
"If I'm not able to do it, I'm not able to do it, that's the nature of the job. But I'll try and do all I can to make sure that happens."
O'Neill's first assignment will be the Euro 2024 qualifiers which kick-off in March.
Northern Ireland have been handed a favourable draw including Denmark - who faltered in the World Cup - Finland, Slovenia, Kazakhstan and San Marino.
Fans' expectations are already on the rise following the second coming of O'Neill, and he admits his side will have to hit the ground running when the new campaign begins against San Marino on March 23.
"I kind of knew there will be expectations, and I won't try to dampen that in any way. That's a positive," he added.
"We have to hit the ground running - any campaign is the same. And the message is always the same to the players.
"The significance of the first four games in a campaign really drives the back end of your campaign. I will be reiterating that message to the players.
"Expectation is a good thing, and for too long we didn't have it. I think that takes the edge off the players when it isn't there.
"I remember having as frank a meeting as you could have with all players prior to going into the Euro 2016 qualifiers, and basically saying we are not just here to gather caps.
"At the end of the day you want to look back at more than that. And I remember talking to those players, particularly the likes of Jonny Evans and Steven Davis. They value their international careers a lot more because of the experiences they have had.
"They have played in successful international teams.
"I remember saying to people like Stuart Dallas and Paddy McNair, they came in at a time when we were winning and it was great all the time.
"Now it has been a bit different in the last campaign, and you hope they are better for that experience. Now you have to maintain it and push all the time.
"So expectation is a good thing, but it has to be realistic as well. And all the other fans from the different nations in our group will feel the same."
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