With Daniel Levy’s blessing, Mauricio Pochettino secretly returned to the training ground he called home for five-and-a-half years in the months after his Tottenham sacking.
For a time, that covert meeting wouldn’t have been possible.
The emotions of the gradual disintegration of the pair’s working relationship, leading to Pochettino’s ruthless sacking in November 2019, remained raw.
But time heals all. Spurs chairman Levy and Pochettino have since worked through their differences — and there were a few.
As Pochettino prepares to face Tottenham for the first time since his exit — as manager of bitter rivals Chelsea no less — it will be tinged with a sense of regret for the Argentine.