New Blackburn Rovers manager Paul Lambert has revealed that he spent time getting tips from some of Europe's best coaches during his nine-month spell away from football.
The 46-year-old, who was appointed Blackburn manager at the weekend, kept himself involved in the game after being sacked by Aston Villa in February.
Lambert shadowed then-Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti before spending five days with Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich.
The Scotsman also watched Jurgen Klopp's coaching methods at Borussia Dortmund before the latter left and joined Liverpool.
"I've been away to a lot of places and watched a lot of great teams train, and watched teams all over Europe, but it's the time to get back in," Lambert told reporters. "I feel better for myself and refreshed is the exact word.
"All the managers have been excellent. I've learned different things that I might implement here and I took a lot away from it. You go to these sort of places and you want to learn, and want to see things."
Blackburn are currently 16th in the Premier League table.