IN this day and age, with over 350 footballers still looking for work, a player in the last year of his contract can ill-afford not to be involved at first-team level.
Andrew Taylor finds himself in just that situation so had absolutely no hesitation in accepting Watford's offer of a loan until early in the New Year.
It wasn't a case of anywhere will do for him, either. Recommendations from Danny Graham and Josh Walker helped smooth the process and left him feeling this was a case of right place, right time.
However this is not an untried teenager coming down from Middlesbrough. Here we have a 24-year-old with Premier League experience who's played over 100 times for the club which brought him - along with fellow Hornets Graham and Walker - through it's much-vaunted youth academy set-up.
Football's all about the here and now, of course, and it's with that mindset Andrew is approaching the chance that's been offered him.
"I needed to start playing again, to get out of Middlesbrough effectively," said the Hartlepool-born left-footer.
"I know I'm not guaranteed a game here at Watford, but what's important is the knowledge that if you're playing well and training well, then you've got a chance of being involved every week.
"That feeling had gone for me at Boro, unfortunately, so there was no point in me sitting around there wondering when I might get another break. It was all a bit stale for me; I wasn't getting the opportunities I felt I deserved."
And if you're thinking left-footer equals left-back, then think again.
"I played a lot in midfield in the youth set-up and I also did a holding midfield job for Steve McLaren in the Premiership," he explained.
"I've been used in various positions, though, including left-back obviously. It's natural for managers to ask left-footed players to fill those roles as you get that balance to a side.
"I'm used to doing different jobs anyway, and I don't have a problem with it. I got plenty of experience in different positions in the youth team, and I think that grounding sets you up to be able to cope easier with that when you're asked to show that you're versatile."
'Tayls' reckons he'll have no trouble settling in, given he's got previous good form for going out on loan and quickly knuckling down to the task.
"Yes I had a great time at Bradford in 2005. I played about six months there as a teenager so it was a really good test.
"I suppose I was answering the question 'Can you be a pro footballer?', both in my own mind and for the manager back at Boro.
"I think that played a part in me getting the call to step in the season after. From then on, I managed to rack up a good few games."
Let's hope Andrew enjoys similar success on loan here this time round.
