"It was a tough time but it was a learning curve for me and I'm a better, stronger person, a better manager for that experience."
Nathan Jones' Southampton stint still stings. They were three bruising months in the Premier League. But his recovery and rejuvenation at Charlton allows for positive perspective as he prepares his current side to face his former one, live on Sky Sports+ this Saturday.
"I don't want too many times in my career to have those experiences that I have to learn from, but that's all in the past," he tells Sky Sports.
"I'm in a wonderful place now, I'm at a club that I love, that's close to my heart, and a club that feels like home."
We're sat in the stands at The Valley, which will host the fixture this weekend. It has become something of a fortress for Charlton and Jones, who began his coaching career in the club's youth system. In his 37 league games in charge of Charlton here, Jones has tasted defeat just three times.
Since his arrival in February 2024, Charlton have been on an upward rise, kicking on from League One play-off final success at Wembley last season to sit ninth in the Championship.
"We want to be competitive at this level, not consolidate or just be OK. We want to be really competitive," insists Jones. But there's no question his side have stepped up impressively.
They have the best defensive record in the division. No team has scored more goals after 90 minutes. It's a combination that has earned them a strong start to the season.
"It shows the fitness level, the relentlessness in our play," says Jones, in reference to their four injury-time goals. "But also a mentality that we go to the end, we try to win games, we make positive changes, we believe that we can win games.
"And that stems from having a good foundation. We're always in games, we're never out of games. And then it gives us that platform to go on and try and win it."
Southampton, by contrast, are suffering down in 17th. Summer appointment Will Still has been sacked and while interim boss Tonda Eckert has picked up a couple of wins, Saints are not where they expected to be when they plotted an immediate return to the Premier League.
But Jones - head coach on the south coast between November 2022 and February 2023 - is not underestimating the challenge.
"It's the toughest of Championship fixtures. They are an ex-Premier League team, as I know very well, have real quality, regardless of who they've sold and who they've brought in.
"The resources they have there are meteoric compared to a lot of other Championship sides, and they have a very talented, dangerous squad.
"What we have to be is the best version of ourselves. That's all we preach. If we're the best version of ourselves and Southampton come here and they are considerably better than us, then we hold our hands up.
"But the big thing we're concerned about is making sure that we are the best version of ourselves, and then we'll see what happens."
After the stop-start nature of these opening months in the Championship, which are peppered with three international breaks, the winter block begins.
After Southampton, Charlton face each of the Championship's top three sides over their next four games. Jones calls it "a real tough run".
But he's relishing it.
"That's why you do it, these games," he says with a smile. "It'll be a massive crowd here at the Valley on Saturday, against a fantastic team, and one I'm really looking forward to, and I know the players are too."
