Former Celtic striker Patryk Klimala insists he did everything he could to turn around his Parkhead fortunes.
But seeing Ryan Christie deployed up front instead of him was the final straw – as the "p****d off" Pole began to wonder if Neil Lennon would ever play him.
Arriving from Jagellonia Bialystok in January 2020, it was one of the worst windows to move clubs.
The global pandemic that would follow just two months later shut down our game and left new signings from far-flung reaches of the world isolated in their digs.
It's no wonder Klimala couldn't hit the heights, but it wasn't for want of trying.
He had several chats with then-boss Lennon and followed the manager's instructions to the letter with no joy.
Now he's banging them in for New York Red Bulls in the States as he told Football Scotland he was incensed when he saw midfielder Christie's name leading the line for an ill-fated Champions League qualifier against Ferencvaros last season, among other games.
He said: "Neil Lennon and I spoke a few times about why I didn't play, what I had to improve on, how I had to make myself up.
"I think I did it but sometimes this happens. Edouard was having a good season, was scoring goals and was doing it every game.
"I was p****d off, to be honest, because I didn't play but that's football, sometimes it works and other times it doesn't.
"What did Lennon ask me to improve specifically? We spoke about my playing with my back to goal, to care more about the ball when I had it, those were the two things he told me.
"He knew I was quick and could score goals but maybe it wasn't the style the manager liked, I don't know.
"I was angry because I didn't understand it.
"I think everyone in my case would be angry because you have a striker available and you play a number 10 as a striker? Maybe the manager didn't trust me enough, I don't know.
"It wasn't one game, it was a couple of games like that. When I was at Celtic I would think about it but it's completely done and I still have no idea why."
Klimala insists it's not in his nature to whinge about game time, however.
"I never spoke about it with Neil Lennon," he added.
"I never complained about why I'm not playing. I never spoke to anyone about why I wasn't playing and they didn't speak to me either because they knew that I don't like complaining.
"I just did my job and maybe that wasn't good enough, I don't know."
