The signing of a new player – in this case, the addition of Ellery Balcombe for Bristol Rovers – signals the start of something new. That in turn applies to Anssi Jaakkola in this case, who has dropped to third in the pecking order behind James Belshaw and the new signing from Brentford.
The 35-year-old Finn is accepting of the situation as he eases towards the end of a commendable playing career that has taken in stops in six countries, with coaching now the primary focus for the former Reading, Kilmarnock and Slavia Prague keeper.
The three-cap Finland international has been Rovers' goalkeeping coach since the departure of Tony Warner in the summer, juggling that position with backing up Belshaw on matchdays and filling in for a smattering of cup games. Jaakkola admits that has been tricky, but with an extra pair of hands arriving in the shape of Balcombe on Thursday, he is happy to focus more on his coaching duties, which have something of an infectious appeal.
"It gives me the chance to step back and focus on coaching," he said after Balcombe's arrival was confirmed. "It has been tough at times to make sure I am ready for training, ready for games, plus doing all of the coaching bits and scouting the opposition and everything that goes on behind the scenes, and then making sure I’m still tip-top if and when I’m needed to play, so this definitely helps.
"Coaching is something that once you start and put your little finger into coaching, it takes your whole hand, it takes your life. I’m still here at 4.30pm and I still need to drive home for an hour and a half and the missus is calling me 10 times asking ‘Where are you?’
"It’s definitely adding a few extra hours to my day, but it is what it is."
Jaakkola's first steps in the professional game came 18 years ago, playing for TP-47 in the Finnish top flight as a teenager. As a result, his whole adult life has been spent in the football bubble.
He is still available for selection for the rest of the season if required, but he admits that could be it for his time as a player, with recent years being blighted by a dispiriting Achilles injury, costing him his place as Rovers' number-one and Belshaw capitalised on that opportunity.
Jaakkola has slowly come to terms with the fact he is not the high-quality starter he once was for the Gas when he arrived in 2019 under Graham Coughlan, and he is grateful after his injury problems to have been able to play some part this year, featuring in all six of Rovers' games in the run to the EFL Trophy quarter-final.
He said: "I was in a bad place about a year ago when I was coming back from the previous Achilles injury, so I was contemplating a year ago if it was the time to retire and try something else.
"Luckily, thanks to the medical department, especially Stu (Leake), they gave me a new fresh start and another chapter to continue my playing career; but everything comes to an end at some point and I’m excited and happy to see what the next steps are."
Those next steps are as a coach. Has that always been the plan?
"Yeah," he replied. "And let’s face it, what else can I do? Football is all I have ever done and that’s all I ever want to do, so it’s the natural way to go.
"I have played in six different countries and I have picked things from here and there. Hopefully, I can put everything I have learned along the way into coaching."
Jaakkola has the ideal mentor in Rovers' head of goalkeeping David Coles, who has coached at several Premier League clubs as well as in the England youth team setup. The Finn appreciates that he has full authority over his sessions, but Coles is a welcome sounding board when advice is required.
"Having that experienced head in the building helps me," he said. "Colesy doesn’t interfere with what I do outside with the keepers every day with how I prepare them and how I want to coach, but he’s there and if I’m not sure about something I can always bounce that to him, or if he sees something I could do differently he can tell me.
"It’s good to have that someone there. I have only been a coach for six months and I don’t know everything, although sometimes I pretend I do."
With Jaakkola unlikely to play another game this season after the arrival of Balcombe, his focus turns fully to getting the best out of Rovers' keepers.
Jaakkola admits his style as an "old-school" goalkeeper compared to Belshaw's modern sweeper approach meant there was not enough pressure on the 32-year-old to keep his place because the former Harrogate Town man fit perfectly with Joey Barton's vision for a keeper and 19-year-old Jed Ward is still learning his trade on loan in non-league.
After some difficult moments for Belshaw in recent weeks, Jaakkola believes the addition of a rival for the number-one spot could be just what he needs to return to peak form.
"He’s (Balcombe) a very exciting young prospect," Jaakkola explained. "We’re delighted that we could reach an agreement with Brentford to bring him here for the next six months to provide some competition between him and James Belshaw.
"If you get too comfortable in your environment, it’s never a good thing. Sometimes you need something to keep you on your toes, to stay sharp, especially in the football world.
"You shouldn’t find yourself in your comfort zone for long periods, knowing there is no competition, so we have to have competition."
Jaakkola has not quite said goodbye to his playing days just yet, but he did bid farewell to something this week: his long hair, joining his teammates for the head shave in support of Nick Anderton on Monday.
He had been growing his hair for three years and he admits he was not keen to face the barber's chair at first, but he was soon convinced and he was happy to support his teammate, who is battling osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.
Sporting a grade one all over, Jaakkola joked: "It’s definitely colder than I expected, but it makes your life so much easier if I’m honest. I was mentally ready for it; I prepared myself for a while and in the end, I was looking forward to it. I wanted to do it earlier, but that would kind of ruined the party.
"My initial reaction was ‘F*** that!’ I spent years growing it so I needed a good enough reason and they said it was for Nick, so I thought ‘OK, s***, I might have to do it’.
"For a while, I pretended I still wasn’t doing it because I wanted to do it as a surprise, but it’s done now.
"It just goes to show the team spirit and the togetherness we have here. One of the guys is going through a difficult time and the least we can do is to help him, to raise awareness and to raise a few quid for him."
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