The big downside of giving the Spaniard any minutes on the pitch is that it would almost certainly be at the expense of teenager Adam Campbell.

“I know I came to play with the first-team but I didn’t get the chance so I have to keep trying. If I have to play with the reserves, I will play and help the team to reach their targets”.

Now I’m not suggesting one good reserve performance means Xisco starts, far from it. Could this though be the start of a path to redemption?

From the moment he was given a big contract at a Premier League club he had “made it”. He had the money, he had the status, he had nothing more to work for.

If you put Demba Ba to one side, you have Krul, Tiote and Cisse with five years left on their contracts, Coloccini, Santon, Cabaye and Steven Taylor with four years, while Jonas and Hatem Ben Arfa have three.