As Frank Lampard's eagerness to participate in training comes under scrutiny, Stephen Kelly's experience working under Glenn Hoddle offered an example of what can go wrong for the great player turned manager.
Not the first revelation regarding how the former England manager conducted his training sessions, Kelly's involvement with the Spurs first-team came not long before Glenn Hoddle's tenure in charge reached its conclusion.
"It was amazing for me to watch," admitted Kelly of getting to work alongside the Spurs legend, "he was still a joy to watch as a player.
"You were looking at him thinking that he's still technically better than most of the players on this pitch.
"He's probably the best player I've ever seen live, and he was the manager."
In his mid-40s at this stage, Hoddle's enthusiasm for playing the game had clearly not waned.
To the detriment of his managerial ambitions, however, the former Chelsea boss was unable - or unwilling - to dial down his obvious talents.
"His technical ability is like nothing you've ever seen before," stressed Kelly.
"I remember in one session, Jamie Redknapp and a few guys were taking free-kicks.
"Glenn Hoddle steps in and says, 'Maybe you should hit them like this.' He just starts whipping them in the top-corner, with both feet!
"I was just thinking, that's not the best way to get the players on board.
"I was a young lad so I didn't really have an opinion in that sense, but you could see that there was a sense of unrest among some of the senior players.
"They didn't like it and weren't encouraged by it. They felt he was undermining them.
"Jamie Redknapp and these guys were practicing free-kicks, Hoddle steps up, 'Maybe you should do this'" 😂
Former @SpursOfficial boss Glenn Hoddle had a fairly hands-on approach to training, as Stephen Kelly recalled 😂
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— Off The Ball (@offtheball) August 23, 2019
A feature of Hoddle's management style that has been discussed - and caused some dismay - at great length, reports that Frank Lampard has adopted a similarly forthright approach with Chelsea has been treated with scepticism in certain quarters.
However, as Kelly's time at Birmingham City under Steve Bruce demonstrated, the manager's involvement may not always necessarily be to the players' detriment.
"Steve used to join in sometimes," recalled Kelly, "but it was only on a Friday and it was pure banter.
"He'd be running around and lads would be giving him a kicking, but it was just funny."
