Eddie Howe could not help but laugh.
"I was going to give the stock answer," the Newcastle United head coach said, when asked how his summer had been. "But it has been stressful..."
That is an understatement.
Newcastle went into the transfer window with no CEO and no sporting director, which Howe said was "not ideal".
CEO Darren Eales handed in his notice last autumn because of a serious health problem and is yet to be replaced, while Paul Mitchell announced in May he was leaving his role as sporting director.
During the transfer window, Newcastle have missed out on several targets, including strikers Benjamin Sesko, Hugo Ekitike and Joao Pedro, and goalkeeper James Trafford.