Not long after Luton Town have beaten Cardiff City, Hatters boss Nathan Jones is chatting away with two Bluebirds favourites Nathan Blake and Damon Searle in the corridors at Cardiff City Stadium.
They reminisce about old times in the early 90s when they were all budding Bluebirds. Blake and Searle, of course, would go on to achieve great things in a Cardiff shirt. Jones, meanwhile, was cast aside, for which he blames his two old pals.
"They were both left-footed and better players than me, so I didn't stand a chance!" he laughs. He is in good spirits and rightly so, too. Harry Cornick's header has just given Luton the only goal of the game as they earned a crucial win over the Bluebirds on Easter Monday.
READ MORE: Harry Cornick's header is enough for Luton to beat frustrated Bluebirds
While clearly delighted, as his side strengthen their grip on fourth place in the table and look almost nailed-on for a play-off spot now, his celebrations are notably more muted than the raucous scenes he caused when the Hatters beat Swansea City earlier in the season.
"There's a reason for that," he smiles. Jones has strong ties with the Bluebirds and his love for the club has never waned. Born in Blaenrhondda at the tip of the Rhondda valley, the Luton boss was raised a Cardiff fan. Now aged 48, and with a heap of clubs behind him and an impressive managerial CV to boot, that is no different.
When WalesOnline asks him if he still supports Cardiff, he replies: "Absolutely. I grew up in the Rhondda valley where all my mates were Cardiff fans. I had the chance to sign for Bristol City or Cardiff City and I signed for Cardiff City.
"I worked on the turnstiles when I was an apprentice and then rushed and watched all the games. All my mates came down and then we would all go back and chat about the games. I love Cardiff City.
"I grew up in the Rhondda and it's either Cardiff or Swansea. There's probably more Cardiff fans in the Rhondda valley than Swansea. I want to see Welsh football do well. I played for Merthyr. I want to see Merthyr do well and Newport. It's better when Wrexham, Newport, Cardiff do well.
"I remember the Welsh Cup, it used to be a fantastic competition where people went at each other. Barry Town were spending money. I want to see Welsh football do really well. One of my good mates is doing fantastically well as interim Wales manager, Robert Page.
"I want to see Welsh football do really well... just not when I'm managing an English team up against them! But that's only normal because food on the table is better than passion in the heart."
He is hanging on to the last dregs of the Easter bank holiday weekend by going up the valley to see some of his old pals after beating his beloved Bluebirds. He was planning on popping into a Treorchy pub or two to celebrate, as well.
"We might go down the Lion or the Cardiff Arms, or the Bistro as it's now called!" he says with a smile. "We will have a look. A few mates will come out and have a reminisce."
The drinks will no doubt be on him because, at the minute, he is working wonders with this Luton side. He steered the club to League Two promotion during his first stint in the dugout and got them well on their way to promotion to the Championship at the first time of asking, before being poached mid-season by Stoke City, such was the stellar job he was doing at Kenilworth Road.
For whatever reason, his time in the Potteries was a disaster. He won just six of his 38 games in charge and was sacked after fewer than 10 months at the club. It's a curious blot on his copybook, but many suggest it was simply a case of the right person at the wrong time. That happens sometimes.
There is something that just fits with him at Luton Town. It took a lot of toil and goodwill to get supporters back onside when he returned as Hatters boss in May 2020, but given the sensational season plucky old Luton are having this term, the Kenilworth Road faithful have fallen back in love with their passionate boss once again.
He has them all dreaming of the Premier League, a quite remarkable achievement. They are six points clear of seventh place with three games to go and the play-offs surely beckon. Given this time eight years ago they were in the Conference and this time five years ago they were in League Two, the rise has been staggering. Jones can take a lot of credit for much of that.
Despite the meteoric rise and promotions in recent years, though, the Welshman refuses to allow himself to dream of the bright lights of the Premier League just yet. "You never allow yourself that luxury of thinking about that until you're mathematically secure, but we are in a wonderful position," he says. "If I was outside the play-offs looking at Luton then I would have an opinion on that - but I don't allow myself that luxury because, being a manager, anything can happen.
"It's the best squad I've seen for togetherness, wanting to follow a manager, humbleness, for wanting to go after something. I can be vociferous, demanding, but they know why. They just want to work hard. They know they are overachieving. For a club with a bottom-three budget - we wouldn't be top-eight budget in League One - so to do that and be fourth in the Championship, competing against some of the absolute juggernauts that are up there, it's a wonderful story.
"I just want to try and get to next weekend without picking up another injury. Then when we get there and overcome that obstacle we will have a look. We will play Blackpool and try to get another three points to qualify for the play-offs. Then we have to go up against a mammoth team over two legs and win a game at Wembley! There's a hell of a long way to go."
It's probably fair to say that Luton are quickly becoming many neutral fans' pick for promotion, given their budget and the quaint, charismatic ground at which they play.
Jones is on a journey at Luton. He has just signed a lengthy five-and-a-half-year managerial contract which will take him to the end of the 2026/27 campaign. The project is far from complete, if that is anything to go by.
Steve Morison is just at the foothills of his own journey in the Welsh capital. He, too, has signed a new deal recently, granted only until the end of next term, but he is excited about what this summer will yield and wants fans to share that enthusiasm.
Despite three defeats in the last four games, Morison's tenure has by and large been a positive one, spurred on by the excellent work conducted in the January transfer window. Given the huge turnaround expected this summer, there is no reason Cardiff, even on a slashed budget, cannot emulate the feats of Luton this year if they get their work right in the off-season.
Jones' Luton are where Morison will want his Cardiff side to be in 12 months' time. The Rhondda-reared manager reiterates again his love for Luton and cannot praise his players enough for giving them even a puncher's chance of achieving promotion to the top flight this season. However, with regards to Jones and his managerial bucket list, it is only natural to wonder whether managing in Wales or even at his hometown club is on his radar at some point in the future.
"You never know where your career is going to take you," he says. "If I'm honest, I have a fierce drive to get to the Premier League. I left and went to Stoke because I believed that was my quickest route.
"But now I've come back and I really want to take Luton to the Premier League. I want to be at Luton, we are building something. We are nowhere near our evolution. At the minute we are pulling up trees on a really low budget.
"I love the club, the autonomy I have, the processes. As a manager that's all you can want. So it's not just about letting your heart manage you. Here at Cardiff, Steve has just come in and implemented something so he will need time.
"But, look, eventually, you never know. It's not something I can sit here now and say, 'Yeah, it's something I really want to do', but, being home in Wales, I love Wales, I am a very proud Welshman, it's a long way in the future but I would never turn that down."
