"Hanley can barely hide the smile on his face as he re-emerges, happy to extend his stay at the Lotus Training Centre for media duties and a briefing on how his Achilles has held up."
Those were the words used here in November, following Norwich City captain Grant Hanley's first game in seven months as the Canaries' under-21s were beaten 4-3 by Tottenham Hotspur.
On that day the 32-year-old was bursting with optimism and joie de vivre as he prepared to strengthen a struggling team in desperate need of his help. What's happened since then has been quite the U-turn.
Three days after that interview was published, head coach David Wagner confirmed his skipper had sustained another minor injury that would rule him out for at least two weeks.
Hanley followed that with seven performances he's admitted were lacklustre and by March he'd begun an individual training programme to improve his physical output.
Add all that up and it's hard to see this season with anything but frustration for the City stalwart, who was a player of the season candidate at Carrow Road last term.
Shimmering on the horizon, however, are two golden opportunities to leave the hardship behind; two oases in the shapes of a Championship play-off run and a trip to Germany for Euro 2024.
Scotland's qualification for the latter is an undoubted carrot for Hanley, who's desperate for more after featuring in the tournament's last iteration three years ago.
"I've played in one for Scotland before, played in the Euros, albeit during Covid when the fans were reduced," he recalls, speaking to The Pink Un after a signing session at Jarrolds in the city centre.
"That without doubt was one of the best experiences of my career, so I can only imagine what it'll be like when the stadium's are full.
"I'm obviously not getting any younger either, so chances of playing in things liken that are probably going to be limited.
"Obviously my main focus is trying to get myself fit and somehow get involved in that."
There are no questions about his priorities at present, however, with his club side inching closer to securing a top-six spot at the end of the season and a mouth-watering play-off campaign so close Hanley can taste it.
So focused are the City squad on achieving their targets, he and fellow Scottish internationals Angus Gunn and Kenny McLean have declined even to discuss the Euros.
"No," he says when asked about any Tartan Army chat in the Colney dressing room. "When we're at Norwich, the only thing on my mind is what we're doing at Norwich. That's probably how I should have answered the question previously (about the Euros).
"Obviously we've put ourselves in a right good position that at one stage you wouldn't have thought was possible.
"Credit to the lads, they've been absolutely excellent and made improvements. It just shows what we're capable of.
"The thing is with football that it changes very quickly. It can change for better or for worse, so the only things that you can control are how hard you're working, how much you prepare, and trying to give yourself the best chance possible to perform on the pitch.
"That's where I'm at personally, and we'll see how it goes."
The Dumfries native is clearly a huge part of international boss Steve Clarke's plans, having been selected for the first time in a year but declining to improve his personal fitness.
While debate around division of focus will continue to rage on around various international players as the season draws to a close, Hanley's final answer makes clear that success on both fronts goes hand in hand.
"Obviously they named me in the squad and fair play to them, because obviously it wasn't off the back of performing really well," he continues. "It was probably a little nod to what I've done in the past, which was really nice and a bit of a confident boost for me, to see that I'm still in their thoughts.
"I've been out for so long, I've come back and played a handful of games without really performing anywhere near where I was before I got injured.
"I've spoken to Scotland, and it's up to me. It's a cliché, I've certainly said it loads in the past and I'm sure other players have, but you need to be playing at club level, you need to be playing well to be selected for international football."
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