Eiran Cashin is in the dark about his immediate future but would welcome a return to Blackburn Rovers.
The defender starred after arriving from Brighton & Hove Albion in January. He quickly became a mainstay in the Rovers team and was hugely important in their survival.
Cashin's struggles at Birmingham City also made him appreciate the backing he received at Rovers. He has been open about the challenges he faced at St Andrew's and how the move to Ewood Park helped restore his confidence.
He'll now sit down with the Seagulls chiefs in the coming weeks. But the prospect of another Rovers loan is certainly one that would appeal.
"Honestly, I have no idea (what's next)," he told RoversTV.
"All I can say is I've loved my time here and I would love to come back. Like I say, on the pitch, in the dressing room, the lads and the staff here have been excellent.
"I thank all of them for making me feel so welcome and helping me. But as far as next season goes, I generally have no idea. I'm going to go speak to Brighton in a week or two from when this is filmed and obviously see what their plans are.
"I've just got to spend this time now to relax and recover from quite a challenging second half of the season, and then just get focused up in a few weeks on what the future holds.
"I want to play every game possible. I think that's always been my look on it. You should be available for every game and if you're not doing that, then in my head I'm doing something wrong.
"Playing week in, week out is the most important thing and hopefully that's something I can do."
Cashin played just shy of 2,000 league minutes for Rovers. Contrasted to barely 1,000 in the first half of the campaign.
That regular game time brought about his best performances.
"It helps when you're playing regular football. You get yourself in that rhythm," he explained.
"You understand your body, you learn your body, you learn how it competes and what you need to do to rest and recover.
"Once you've sort of hit that good bit of form, you just hope the games keep coming, to be honest. You don't want any breaks.
"I think the one time I got injured was obviously in the international break. That was maybe just from having a few too many days off or having that break in football where my body's not used to it.
"When the games come thick and fast and you get yourself in form, it becomes second nature. I think having the teammates around us, like Sean being in there consistently, Balazs and obviously Tom (Atcheson) towards the end of the season, you sort of learn to play with them players."
"I think even on and off the pitch, obviously on the pitch, I feel more confident. I feel like I'll make more passes or be more of a leader," he added.
"But even off the pitch, I felt when you're playing well on the pitch, it's easy to be a bit more confident off the pitch. Obviously, going into a new environment when you first start, it can be quite daunting.
"No matter where you go or how confident you are, the first few steps and the first few days in the door are always quite daunting.
"So knowing that you're playing well and you've started to pick up some good performance, it helps you to just settle in and you can start to express yourself off the pitch."
Michael O'Neill constantly referenced that Cashin did not feel like a loan player. He bought into the cause from day one and that is essential in a relegation fight.
He felt that the pressure of keeping Rovers in the division brought the best from him.
"What I found is I feel like I perform better under pressure," he insisted.
"I feel like when there are stakes on the line and we know how important this club is and where it needs to be. The fact of keeping them in the Championship next season is massive.
"So going into those games, you knew what was at stake. I think that just helps you to perform, helps me anyway to perform at the best I can, knowing that if you just do the basics well and you work hard and you grow from that, I feel like that's part of my game.
"The first five, 10 minutes in a game for me is all about winning my first header, winning my first tackle and finding my first five, 10-yard pass. Then from that, you sort of grow into the game.
"You don't really want to go chasing things and start too quickly trying to do something too complicated. I think, like you say, the first thing is just doing the basics well. Then eventually it all comes on from there."
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