Mark Warburton previously had to contend with his alarm going off at 4.42am in his swanky job as a City banker.
But nowadays, he's more bothered about 4-4-2 in a footballing sense.
Warburton, the Queens Park Rangers manager, has a unique backstory and it is one that is fuelling his drive as he looks to end the club's seven-year exodus from the Premier League.
The 59-year-old has opened up about his life working in the City and how he would balance early starts and stressful days with coaching Watford's youth teams in the evening, admitting he would not return home until 10pm most nights.
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Speaking to the Coaches' Voice, Warburton said: "I was working in the foreign exchange currency-trading markets. Our desk of 10 guys would turn over 20 to 25 billion dollars a day. That was a normal day. On other days, we’d do more.
"So, there really was significant responsibility on the shoulders of these young guys.
"I loved that responsibility and pressure, but it started to become too much work for me with my coaching on the side."
That led to Warburton quitting his lucrative but high-pressure banking job as he aimed to make the breakthrough in full-time coaching.
He would eventually go on to form a relationship with then Watford boss Aidy Boothroyd, which would end up with Warburton eventually progressing through the ranks to become academy director.
He added: "I’d make sure to be first in every morning.
"That allowed me to meet Aidy. We’d have a coffee together, and often go for a run first thing. All of a sudden, you are talking to the first-team manager regularly.
"He asked me to present to the players and staff about working in the City. He was intrigued about that side of things.
"It gave me a hook with the players. I hadn’t been a professional player, so I needed something like that to gain the respect of the players. Otherwise, that could have been my Achilles heel."
What would follow in the ensuing years would be a rapid progression for Warburton. He was enticed to Brentford as first team coach before moving upstairs to become sporting director.
In December 2013 he was asked to take over as manager - his first senior management post - and he duly led the Bees to promotion from League One that season.
Brentford reached the play-off semi-finals in their first season in the Championship and Warburton's stock was high enough that he was handed the manager's job at Glasgow Rangers.
He got the Gers back up into the Scottish Premiership before a brief spell at Nottingham Forest in 2017.
He was appointed by QPR in 2019 and is in his third campaign with the West London side. It has been a tale of gradual improvement: A 13th place finish in 2019-20 followed by ninth last time around.
Rangers are currently fifth in a tightly-bunched play-off chase, and dreams of the top flight next season are still very much alive.
"I want to manage in the Premier League," Warburton admitted.
"I’m ambitious. My career – both in trading and in football – has shown that.
"You gain confidence from building a CV in any industry. Just like in the City, where you build confidence from working at bigger banks, in football you build confidence with the success you have in big jobs.
"I feel proud to have got to where I am without having had a playing career. It would be a massive achievement if I could manage in the Premier League."
