Teddy Sheringham is hoping to impart his considerable experience after starting his role as West Ham United's new attacking coach.
The former Hammers and England forward was at Chadwell Heath as the squad returned for pre-season training on Thursday, casting his eye over the players as they took to the training pitch for the first time in seven weeks.
The 48-year-old, who still looks easily fit enough to turn out himself in the Barclays Premier League, will work on a part-time basis with the likes of Andy Carroll, Carlton Cole and new signing Mauro Zarate to increase West Ham's potency in front of goal.
After five years out of the game, Sheringham revealed that he could not turn down Sam Allardyce's offer to join the Hammers backroom staff.
"I'm really excited," he confirmed. "If you had asked me a year ago if I was going to get back into football, I wouldn't have believed you.
"For the last five years, I've been enjoying my life, but this just seemed the right time and when Sam made the phone call, it was the perfect situation for me - a couple of days a week and matchdays as well.
"The experience will be invaluable and the offer was too good to turn down."
Sheringham has known Big Sam for more than 30 years, having initially got to know the West Ham boss during their respective playing careers at Millwall in the early 1980s.
"I knew of Sam at Millwall and he obviously knew of me, and I have played against his teams over the last however so many years," Sheringham confirmed. "We have met each other out over the last few years and chatted about the old days and where I started and he finished up.
"We have an understanding and when he made that phone call, it was a lovely call to get.
"I played a bit of poker and a bit of golf, but I wasn't really getting great at either of them, so I thought 'What am I good at? What have I done throughout my life?' and it was football. It seemed a good idea to get back in now - the right time in my life."
Capped 51 times by England and a Premier League and UEFA Champions League winner with Manchester United, Sheringham's challenge is now to translate his own ability into improved attacking performances from West Ham's current attackers.
"There are a lot of players over the years who have collected a lot of knowledge and it's all about getting that knowledge over to the players so that they understand it and respect it," he said.
"Everybody is different, so there is a lot of psychology that goes into how you speak to players and the way you listen to players as well. I'll be trying to my utmost to get into their heads, as well as improving their technical ability and physical attributes.
"I'll be trying to nurture them to get them to perform the best that they can, scoring goals and doing their stuff for West Ham."
Sheringham will work with a variety of forwards, with Carroll and Cole of the taller, physical variety and Zarate and youngster Elliot Lee being shorter, more mobile operators.
Big Sam welcomes Teddy Sheringham to his backroom staff
"Even when I was coming to the end of my own career, I enjoyed playing with younger players who did different things to me," he explained. "In shooting practice, I watched the younger ones as well as the older players, as you are always learning something in this game.
"If Mauro can add something to Carlton's game, who can add something to Andy's game, plus the youngsters who are here to work with us as well, that's what it's all about - getting that little bit more of an armoury so you have all the tools on a Saturday afternoon to help the team score goals and win games for West Ham."
After a playing career with the Club that included promotion via the Play-Offs, an FA Cup final and a 'Great Escape' from Premier League relegation, how does Sheringham see the 2014/15 season panning out for the Hammers?
"I see that the Premier League is a tough league now. Obviously you've got the top teams challenging for the honours, but anyone from perhaps 12-14 teams can get relegated, while any of those 12-14 could push for the top six as well.
"It's the latter that we want to be involved in."