Only a few months ago, Paddy Kenny was trying to escape football on a Saturday, now he is preparing for one of the biggest games of his career so far.
When he trots out at Loftus Road today, the 32-year-old keeper will feel that rush of adrenaline as he prepares to make his debut for QPR in the first home game of the season against Barnsley.
Even though he has plenty of experience of the palpable atmosphere that comes with such games, Kenny knows that it is something a footballer should never take for granted as it all can become a distant memory far too quickly.
The Republic of Ireland international knows all about that, having been banned for nine months last season due to testing positive for the banned substance ephedrine whilst playing for fellow Championship outfit Sheffield United.
That lengthy suspension acted as a shattering blow to Kenny's career and to his confidence as he wasn't even allowed to train with his team-mates or play football at any level.
Suddenly, the world changed for the experienced goalkeeper as he had only known a life inside football since turning professional in 1997. But he found himself trying to avoid watching games because they just made his ban seem like it would never end.
'On a Saturday, i just had to get out of the house. I knew that the football would be starting, so I'd usually go to the gym but even there Soccer Saturday would be on the TVs,' Kenny told Sportsmail.
'It was a tough period and Saturdays were always the worst as I was so used to playing games on that day. When you know a game is on and you can't play it is the most frustrating thing.
'I tried to keep myself and got a friend of mine to act as a personal trainer. That helped a lot, because I wasn't allowed anywhere near a football pitch due to the ban.
'After a while I realised that there are worse things in the world and it is not all about football. But that feeling always came back on a Saturday.'
A lot of clubs would not have showed much loyalty to a player during such a time, but Sheffield United stood by him and even offered him a contract extension.
But that didn't stop him from joining QPR this summer when a £750,000 bid activated a release clause in his new contract. The lure of playing for such a prestigious club and linking up with manager Neil Warnock again ultimately proved to be too much to ignore.
From Kenny's perspective, the move made sense on so many levels, although his former club probably see it in a different way with manager Kevin Blackwell refusing to return any of the keeper's phonecalls.
'When QPR came in I didn't have to think about it for too long because there was a three-year deal on the table and a player of my age doesn't get those kind of offers too often,' said the seven-times capped Ireland international.
'The manager [Warnock] played a big part in making up my mind too as I had obviously worked him before and I know what he is all about. He has shown a lot of faith in me through the years and again by signing me for this club.
'Don't get me wrong, I had seven great years at Sheffield United and I'll always remember what they did for me, but they are the one's who insisted on putting that clause into my contract.'
Kenny doesn't expect to recieve a warm welcome when he returns to Bramall Lane next week wearing a QPR jersey, but as far as he is concerned there is a lot more to worry about.
Top of his agenda is making the most of his second chance in football as he stated that there is 'not a chance in hell I'm going to mess this up'. A big part of that is helping his new club push for promotion in the Championship.
If that goes well, then he wants to turn his attention towards breaking back into the Ireland squad as he has not featured for the national squad since standing down for selection in 2007, and feels that he has to 'put a few things right' with regard to his international career.
One of Kenny's last caps nearly four years ago, in October 2006, came in a 5-2 Euro 2008 qualifying debacle against Cyprus in Nicosia during the managerial reign of Steve Staunton.
For now though, he is more than happy just to be back playing football on a Saturday afternoon and making the most of his fresh start.