Recalling the sorrier days of his playing career with Sunderland and Hull City, Kevin Kilbane explained the widespread shock and devastation that engulfs a club after being relegated from the Premier League.
In a professional career that spanned the course of three decades, Kevin Kilbane has had his modest share of forgettable moments.
Discussing the upheaval that surrounds a club during a summer of transfer speculation, at two distinct points in his career Kilbane recalled the sense of uncertainty that follows a club's relegation from the Premier League.
"At Hull we had a lot of upheaval after being relegated," the former Irish international explained on Thursday's OTB AM.
"When I was still in the early days of playing Premier League football, and we had got relegated with Sunderland."
A period that brings an expected level of personal and professional disappointment for the players and management staff involved, it was the knock-on effects for those individuals that relied on the club for their livelihood in a less spectacular fashion that stuck with Kilbane.
There are so many redundancies made across the club, so you feel that bit of pressure because these people you've worked with for years will be leaving the club
"It's just the disconnection from everyone at the club," Kilbane recalled, "all of a sudden everyone's job at the club, whether it be the people on the door welcoming you into the training ground, people living round the stadium itself, is on the line.
"There are so many redundancies made across the club, so you feel that bit of added pressure because these people you've worked with for years will be leaving the club.
"You take that on board as well, that their livelihoods are down to what you do on the pitch.
"People don't necessarily see that side of it."
Despite enduring some difficult periods during his spell with Sunderland, Kevin Kilbane enjoyed the closeness with which those who worked within the club shared.
After suffering relegation from the Premier League in 2003, the necessary cuts in expenditure that follow this eventuality took their toll in a manner that few looking on objectively perhaps appreciated.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
