Faced with staying at Nottingham Forest or crossing the River Trent and joining Notts County, there was only one decision Spencer Weir-Daley could make.
 Weir-Daley scored eight goals for three clubs on loan last season |
The promising 21-year-old had had enough of being on the periphary at the City Ground, having to settle for the odd substitute appearance.
Confident in his own ability, he yearned for the chance to prove himself with an extended run in the first team.
Only 330 yards away, Magpies boss Steve Thompson was planning his strategy to try to convince the livewire striker that Meadow Lane was the place to be.
It seemed to have the desired effect, with Weir-Daley signing a two-year deal in June and dropping down from League One to League Two in the process.
"I was impressed with Steve because of the way he approached me," Weir-Daley told BBC Sport.
"He seemed to have done his research on me and he was pretty keen to get me to sign. He wanted me because he felt I could make the side better.
"One of the biggest things in football is to feel wanted and I was impressed with his ideas for me and the belief he had in what I could do for his team.
"I could have gone to Bradford but Notts County's squad seemed a lot more stable. They have kept their squad from last season and added quality to it, which is important."
So, any pangs of regret at turning down a new deal at Forest, the club he joined as a trainee?
"Not really. It was a big decision but big decisions like that get easier the more you think about them and they seem to make more sense over time," he added.
 | I just want to take each game as it comes and try to score every time I step on to the pitch |
"I was at Forest a long time and they are a big club but, to be honest, the contract they offered me wasn't important. All I cared about was being part of their first-team plans and I wasn't convinced I would be.
"I went on loan to Macclesfield, Lincoln and Bradford last season and I didn't want to have another season like it, I don't want to be in that boat again.
"Forest have always signed a lot of strikers, if the guys up front aren't firing they buy more, so as a younger player you tend to get pushed out of the picture a little bit.
"I do feel I never got a fair crack of the whip at Forest. I don't have any bad feeling because they did a lot to help me but it would have been nice to show what I could do.
"I was left out of the play-off semi-final second leg against Yeovil when I felt really sharp and fresh. That kind of summed up my position at the club.
"Sometimes you just feel there is nothing more you can possibly do."
Having been labelled a promising youngster so far in his career, Weir-Daley knows next season he will carry the burden of being Notts County's chief goal threat.
But no-one will put more pressure on the Leicester-born hitman than himself.
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"Obviously it is difficult for people to see from the outside but sometimes I do put too much pressure on myself," stated Weir-Daley.
"I have always set targets in past seasons but this time I'm not going to.
"I just want to take each game as it comes and try to score every time I step on to the pitch.
"But I know I am not just going to walk into this team, I know I will have to earn my place like everyone else."
Weir-Daley could find himself partnering veteran frontman Jason Lee, a player who has also sampled life playing for the red half of Nottingham - and many other teams besides.
"I'm really looking forward to playing with Jason," Weir-Daley said of the man 15 years his senior.
"You watch players when you are a kid and it's weird, you never ever think you will end up playing with them.
"It will be great to play with a guy of his massive experience, it will help me and it must help the team too.
"I've already seen in the early stages of pre-season that he has got an effect on people around the dressing-room and he is always trying to help people, especially the younger guys."
With Lee's help and boss Thompson's support, it might just be Nottingham Forest who are kicking themselves about the one that got away.
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