Winston Reid is looking forward to getting back into club football, but for now his focus is on New Zealand's journey towards the 2022 Fifa World Cup.
Like Chris Wood, Reid will be a vital presence over the next two weeks, as the highly favoured All Whites navigate the Oceaniaqualifying tournament in Qatar, where they could play up to five matches in 13 days.
At 33, Reid remains the defensive lynchpin, while his leadership within a young group is crucial.
Since he left West Ham by mutual consent last September, the All Whites captain has yet to link with another club. His initial energies were focused on relocating his family from the UK to Dubai, with the inherent red tape and paperwork.
"Apart from the footballing side it's gone relatively smooth," said Reid. "Everyone else is happy - apart from the kids when I slide tackle them in the kitchen."
Reid has an open mind about a new club, saying it doesn't have to be in the United Arab Emirates, or even in the Middle East.
It was expected that something would be arranged in the January transfer window for Reid, who played more than 200 games for West Ham, but nothing was finalised.
"For various reasons some things didn't work out and some things it just wasn't right for me," said Reid. "It's not ideal; in an ideal world I should be playing. But hopefully we get something sorted soon."
But equally, Reid has been reinvorgated by his role as the kaumatua of this group.
The time in camp at the Tokyo Olympics was the longest he had spent in the New Zealand fold since the 2010 World Cup, a marked contrast to the usual fly in, fly out nature of his appearances during his Premier League career, and insiders rave about his influence and impact.
Winston Reid of New Zealand during their international friendly match between Jordan and New Zealand. Photo / Power Sport Images.
This tournament is also a new adventure for Reid. Before this event, his last game against Oceania opposition was almost a decade ago, a World Cup qualifying game against New Caledonia in Dunedin in March 2013 (2-1).
He also had two matches against Island nations in 2012 but none during the Anthony Hudson era, with injuries and unavailability seeing him miss the 2016 Nations Cup and the subsequent six-game OFC World Cup qualifying series.
Reid was also sorely missed during the 2013 Intercontinental playoff with Mexico, after suffering an ankle injury days before the first leg. He was superb in the Peru series four years later, though Wood's inability to play a full part in either Wellington or Lima was critical.
Now Reid aims to pilot the team towards another playoff, a one-off match against the fourth placed Concacaf nation in mid-June, the World Cup dream driving him in the twilight of his career.
"I just still want to play – that's the main thing," said Reid. "If I didn't enjoy being here I wouldn't be here.
"The goal is to get us to another World Cup and we have got a good chance of doing that. We have to take it step by step; we won't take anything for granted."
He is also relishing the opportunity to be focused on the All Whites, after playing only 19 international matches during his decade at West Ham.
"I really enjoy being part of the environment," said Reid. "Probably early in my career I wasn't able to so much, for various reasons.
"Now I'm able to, so hopefully we can do well. It's the first time I've played in this tournament as well. It's something I've always looked forward to and just keen to get on with it."
The tournament was plunged into early chaos on Friday morning, with the second Group A match between Tahiti and Vanuatu unable to be played after gameday testing revealed positive Covid-19 cases in the vast majority of the Vanuatu squad.
An OFC statement said Vanuatu wouldn't have had enough players to field a team.
Fifa regulations for World Cup qualifying mandate that tournaments should "proceed as scheduled whenever possible" if a match is called off due to a lack of available players.
The Solomon Islands beat the Cook Islands 2-0 in the opening game.
All Whites at the OFC World Cup qualifying tournament
Saturday, March 19, 3am: v Papua New Guinea Tuesday, March 22, 6am: v Fiji Friday, March 25, 6am: v New Caledonia Monday, March 28, 3am/6.30am: Semifinals (if qualified). Thursday, March 31, 6am: Final (if qualified).
