New Huddersfield Town boss Neil Warnock revealed it was only going to be the Terriers or Cardiff City would have got him out of retirement.
Warnock, 74, was this week appointed manager of the Championship strugglers, who will be fighting tooth and nail with the Bluebirds to remain in the second tier between now and the end of the season.
He was heavily linked with a return to Cardiff City Stadium following the sacking of Mark Hudson, and remained favourite for the job for some time, despite the veteran retiring from management after his spell with Middlesbrough came to an end.
Cardiff, however, decided to go down a different route and appointed Sabri Lamouchi on a deal until the end of the season.
Lamouchi and Warnock will now go head to head in a bid to keep their respective sides up. At his press conference unveiling, Warnock said he would have only returned to a club he loved, like Huddersfield or Cardiff.
He told our sister site YorkshireLive: "It's a great challenge really. I always thought if I came back in at some change it'd be end of Feb. I only want to work 10 weeks a year if I'm honest, and it was always going to be a club I love like Huddersfield or Cardiff. She's (wife Sharon) always said to me, 'why don't you do that?'
"I have to say though, it's asking a lot for us to get in the play-offs."
It's clear he didn't need too much persuading to get back in the dugout, although he added he's yet to sign an official contract with his old/new club.
"It's a very special time," he said. "Ronnie Jepson rollicks me every time we go back in time, because he was convinced we could have gone into the Premier League if I stayed here. But the chairman lied to me and I fell out with him and that's me really.
"Incidentally I've not even signed anything here yet, but that's by the by isn't it.
"But I was really taken aback when I came here for the Stoke game earlier this season. I said to Sharon, 'wow, I didn't expect that'. We had two Wembley appearances and a lot of people of that age group, it meant a lot to them.
"I've got goose pimples talking to you now and I want the fans to be excited. Listen, I can't tell you if we can do anything like that. We're odds on favourites to get relegated. But we've got to try, give the fans something to shout about and win games."
Asked if he'll be able to keep them up, Warnock replied: "I don't really think about things like that. If they get relegated I won't be blamed, will I? It's a piece of cake really. All my career, other managers don't like to play my teams I don't think."
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