Joe Worrall is having a moment of nostalgia. He is discussing Nottingham Forest heroes of the past - his heroes.
Chris Cohen, Andy Reid, Colin Barrett, Frank Clark. All of who are part of a rich history at the City Ground.
And Worrall is well aware this current generation of Reds players have the chance to write their own names into club folklore.
There’s no disguising what it means to the centre-back to be part of a Forest team chasing promotion to the Premier League.
It is more than two decades since there has been top-flight football on Trentside. A whole generation - Worrall’s generation - have grown up following their side with little to cheer.
That is something he is desperate to change.
“If I wasn’t playing for Forest, I’d be on the terraces,” said the 23-year-old, who has been a central figure under Sabri Lamouchi, helping the Reds climb to fourth in the table.
“I’d be sat at home listening to whoever is being interviewed and getting excited about the weekend; being interested to see how the players feel about promotion and where we should be looking in the table.
“The younger generation, my generation, has always been about League One, lower end or mid-table Championship. Now, to be a part of a team that could potentially be promoted is fantastic.
“You can’t take the position we’re in for granted.
“Fast forward a year, if we’re still in the Championship, you don’t want to be thinking, ‘ah, can you remember last year when we had 59 points with 11 games to go’.
“You just need to seize the moment, get as many points as you can and look towards the start of May.
“But come the summer, we don’t want to be sat here thinking, ‘ah, what a shame that was’.
“I don’t think teams give us as much credit as the likes of West Brom and Leeds, and even your Brentfords, with the type of football they play.
“We’re totally different to those teams, and I don’t think we get as much credit as they do.
“But that’s not a problem for any of us. It’s not a problem for the manager or the club itself, or the fans. We’re quite happy to go under the radar in a sense.
“We’re not up there by a miracle, we’re there for a reason. We’ve worked really hard on the way we play this season and how to approach games.
“You see stats that we’re a lot better without the ball, but it’s not a plan to sit back and defend and play counterattacking football.
“It’s just the way we set up and how things happen on the pitch. I think it’s well suited to the players we’ve got and the way the manager likes to play.
“I think we’re good in both boxes and we’ve got a lot of talent.
“We’ve been a thorn in the sides of many teams this year. That’s testament to how the manager sets us up and us players carrying out his style of play.”
Lamouchi has certainly been a revelation since taking charge in June, having come in as a relative unknown.
The Frenchman has reiterated time and again how he is not looking any further forward than the next game ahead.
And that is a philosophy which resonates with Forest players of the past.
“I was speaking to Colin Barrett and he was talking about how football is a seven days thing. You can only look seven days ahead; you can’t look too far into the future,” Worrall said.
“I think it’s so true. The way he put it was quite interesting.
“You’ve just got to keep trudging along and think about who you’ve got at the weekend. Then the next week starts and you think about how you can improve on the last game, and so on and so forth.
“Those players, the likes of Colin Barrett, played in a different era to us. They’ll sit and watch and think about how the game has progressed, or gone backwards!
“It’s really interesting to speak to them, and the likes of Frank Clark. I speak to him and John McGovern regularly. They chip in with what they think
“It’s really interesting, the balance between how Brian Clough used to do stuff and how Lamouchi does stuff.
“It’s something I could talk with them about for hours. We ended up speaking about VAR for about half an hour!
“I don’t remember that era because I wasn’t born, but for my dad and his generation, it’s their nostalgia - the likes of Frank Clark and Colin Barrett. My nostalgia is Andy Reid and Chris Cohen.”
So, when he was watching from the stands, did Worrall ever anticipate he’d be pulling on the shirt fighting for a place in the Premier League?
“You don’t really think about stuff like that,” said the Nigel Doughty Academy product.
“I was such a young lad at the time; you don’t really think about anything other than what you’re having for dinner that night!
“I’m very privileged. I’ve worked hard to get where I am.
“Of course I enjoy every minute, but there comes a point where you think, ‘right, it’s getting serious now’.”
He enjoys it so much, there was no question Worrall would agree to a new long-term contract at the club.
He has been the subject of speculation, having caught the eye of top-flight sides, but earlier this month penned a new deal until 2024.
“I was over the moon to sign again,” said the defender. “It’s out the way now. Even the day I signed, it was, ‘right, I’ve got training tomorrow and I need to crack on’. I’m just getting on with our end goal, which is promotion.
“I wanted to stay here, of course I did. I’m very happy to have got it sorted and sign again for my club.
“I’m just really excited to see where we end up at the end of the season.
“It’s just exciting in general. Even after speaking to you now, I’ll drive home in the car and think about what an opportunity we’ve got as a club and as players, and everyone involved.
“It’s massive. Everything comes with it if you get to the Premier League.
“When we win, it’s ecstasy because you’re one step closer; you’re one game down towards where you want to be at the end of the season.”
