A tongue-lashing from Sir Alex Ferguson provided the reality check needed for Michael Appleton to rebuild his career at Oxford.
Appleton was a youth player under Ferguson at Manchester United and is still able to lean on his former boss for advice.
It appears to be paying dividends as Oxford play at Middlesbrough in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday, having won promotion to League One under Appleton.
After swapping working for Blackpool for 65 days to working for Blackburn for 67 days, Appleton went to see Ferguson for some sage advice, which was duly distributed.