Less than two months after ending his six-year term at Blackburn Rovers to join West Ham United, Lucas Neill is preparing to return to Ewood Park with the Hammers on Saturday for one of the most decisive games of the season.
"It's going to be strange," he admitted. "I've got a lot of good friends there and I'm very respectful of the team, the coaches and the manager.
"I had a good relationship with the fans as well so it's going to be very strange. They need to win for European places and we need to win for survival. We'll have to put friendship aside and do what we've got to do to get the points."
With Blackburn enjoying a four-match winning run, Lucas knows it won't be an easy return.
"They'll be fired up for the game at home and they'll expect to win," he said. "It's a game that they'll prepare for even more because they know that on paper they should win because of the league positions.
"On the field we know we're going to get a fast, hard, competitive game so we just have to minimise our mistakes and make sure we can match them for desire and stamina.
"A lot of teams, when you play them, it's all about timing. We've got Blackburn who are on a high and that's never a nice time to play a team."
But Lucas believes the Hammers have grown in confidence after putting in a good performance against Tottenham, despite losing the game in the final seconds.
"We can take a lot of heart out of that game, even though we didn't take any points," he said. "It was one of the better games I've been involved in emotionally and in terms of atmosphere.
"You couldn't have asked anymore from anyone, apart from maybe just a tiny bit of composure at the end. If only we could have fast-forwarded the last five minutes so we could get the points we so desperately needed and I thought we deserved.
"Certainly if we play the way we did and believe in ourselves the way we did then we'll be looking good for the last 9 games. But it's important that we get back up to that level."
After suffering injuries to his ankle and knee, the Tottenham game was Lucas' first full 90 minutes for the Hammers since he signed in the January transfer window and he admits it hasn't been the easiest of introductions.
"I've been frustrated," he said. "I've not played a lot of football in the last six or seven weeks and that's not the way you want to start your time at a new club, especially in the position we're in.
"It's been so frustrating, all you want to do is help the team and put a stop to what's happening. So I'm trying hard, trying to make things happen but also focusing on making sure I stay fit for the last nine games.
"I'm still trying to find my feet a little bit, it's very hard to get any cohesion and confidence going because of the results. It's been a little bit more of a battle than everyone would have liked but I'm glad I made the decision to move to West Ham United.
"It's a massive club with fantastic fans and support.
Unfortunately we're just at the wrong end of where we want to
be at the moment. It's important that the points come extremely
quickly so we can try and finish on a high."