Stuart Sinclair became a cult hero over his five seasons with Bristol Rovers, and he reflected on his time at the Mem with glee after Walsall's FA Cup defeat to the Gas on Saturday.
The tireless midfielder followed former Rovers boss Darrell Clarke to the Bescot Stadium in 2019 after the pair enjoyed back-to-back promotions with Rovers in 2015 and 2016.
Sinclair and the Saddlers came off on the losing side on Saturday, with Jack Baldwin and Brandon Hanlan firing the Pirates to a 2-1 win and a spot in Monday's second round draw.
But defeat to Rovers could never sour Sinclair's affection for the club.
"I’m 33 in a couple of weeks. The greys aren’t quite here yet, but they’re definitely chasing me," he said, gesturing towards his Viking-like beard.
"We all want to stay young, don’t we, but time stands still for no man.
"I had five amazing seasons there (Rovers) and I developed massively, not just as a professional footballer but as a human being.
"I can only thank everyone for that experience, it was a very fond one. It’d be nice to be reunited with the supporters sometime, down that Blackthorn End.
"We (Walsall) did pretty much everything we could, we just didn’t finish the job. It was nice to see some familiar faces and reminisce, but we’re disappointed.
"It’s a strange feeling. I’ve got so many good memories there (Rovers) and I’m trying to create new memories here.
"It would have been a lovely memory to get that second goal and build on from there, but unfortunately it was not meant to be."
Walsall pushed Rovers hard in the second half, but Sinclair believes they made life too hard for themselves in the first period. Nonetheless, he is happy at his new club and hopes to create new memories akin to those he has at Rovers.
He continued: "I think we probably gave them a bit too much respect and they moved the ball well, but once we came out and moved the ball better in the second half we made use of wide areas better and that definitely showed and we definitely edged the second half.
"It’s nice to have a new challenge and push forwards and still have the gaffer and some familiar faces here.
"The supporters have been great here, it’s a massive club and hopefully we can create new memories and keep pushing forwards."
