New QPR manager Harry Redknapp took training for the first time on Sunday morning as he prepares for his first game in charge at Sunderland on Tuesday.
And Redknapp was joined by Kevin Bond and Joe Jordan, his former lieutenants at Portsmouth and Tottenham, who will clearly be teaming up with him once again as he attempts to save the struggling London side from relegation.
Redknapp watched QPR at Manchester United on Saturday and a 3-1 defeat there left them rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table and six points adrift of Aston Villa in 17th place.
Asked on his way into training if this was the toughest job he had taken on, Redknapp told Sky Sports: "It probably is yes, because we've only got four points from 13 games. I don't think it gets much tougher than that.
"It will be difficult but we'll see how we go. We'll give it our best shot and you can't do any more than that. If the players do their best, then we've got a chance."
Asked if Bond would be joining him, Redknapp added: "Yes. We'll be sorting that out this morning.
"We're ready to throw ourselves into it. We'll have a loosener this morning and then we'll start getting ready for the game on Tuesday."
Chairman Tony Fernandes has been busy with his Formula One team Caterham and Redknapp confirmed he has not spoken much with his new boss.
"I think he's in Malaysia or Brazil," said Redknapp. "He phoned and left a message last night but I had gone to bed by then."
The 30-year-old is currently on loan at Marseille after falling out with the QPR hierarchy over his misconduct in the season-ending game against Manchester City.
And his admission about his move from Newcastle last year could end any faint possibility of him rebuilding his bridges following the appointment of new boss Harry Redknapp.
"When I went to QPR it was a choice dictated by money," he was quoted as saying in the Sunday People. "I didn't like what I had done, and I swore I'd never do that again.
"It was the first time in my life that I had taken a decision for money. I did it because my partner was due to give birth - but I did not feel good about it."
Manchester City passed up on the opportunity to sign Fernando Torres before the Spain striker joined Chelsea, according to Roberto Mancini.
In January 2011, City boss Mancini signed Edin Dzeko from German side Wolfsburg, while Torres moved to Stamford Bridge from Liverpool for ?50million - roughly twice the price of the Bosnian.
But Mancini revealed it could have been different.
"Two years ago we had a chance," Mancini was quotes as saying on the Independent website. "We decided for other players, also because of his cost.
"There were four or five strikers, we talked about all of these, and after we decided. We chose Edin because we were missing the qualities he had, [he was] strong in the air and different from Torres."
Torres has struggled mightily since joining Chelsea, but Mancini is still a fan.
"I think he is a good player," he said. "Every striker can have a difficult moment but for me he is always dangerous."
Benitez insisted he had no problem keeping the manager's hotseat warm for his fellow Spaniard following his own appointment on an interim basis until the end of the season.
Former Barcelona boss Guardiola is on a one-year sabbatical from football and is said to be Chelsea owner Abramovich's number one managerial target.
Guardiola's agent claims his client, who has also been linked with Manchester United and Manchester City, will make no decision about his future until next year.
And if he elects to join Chelsea, Benitez expects to be among the first to know.
"I think so!" he joked.
He added: "I have good relations with Pep so any time I call him, I say, 'How are you doing?'
"I know he is enjoying life in New York, now, with his family."
And would Benitez's bosses at Chelsea also tell him if they were in talks with Guardiola?
"I don't think that they will let me know," he shrugged.
He added: "But I don't have any problem. I know the situation.
"I have come to create a competitive team and to win trophies.
"It might be that you can win three trophies, which would be difficult for anyone.
"The worst case scenario - if you win three trophies and then they would say, 'No, we give the job to another one' - I will be so pleased with three trophies."
Winning silverware barely scratches the surface of what is expected of a Chelsea manager by the most demanding owner in football, who reputedly wants to watch 'Barcelona in blue shirts'.
Benitez, who met Abramovich over dinner for the first time on Thursday night, said: "He's not desperate in terms of, 'We have to play Barcelona-style'.
"He wants to enjoy watching games.
"The way to enjoy is to see your team winning, and attacking and creating chances.
"The way that we create chances could be passing the ball or with a long ball."
He added: "If you score 10 goals and concede seven... I think he will be happy.
"I wouldn't be happy because I don't want to concede goals but I want to score a lot of goals. My job is to find this balance."
Benitez also questioned how realistic it was to replicate the Barca model overnight, adding: "You will not have this if you don't spend some time doing the same thing for years."
Something else Benitez will have to get used to is a lack of control over transfers.
Again, not a problem.
"I can tell you 200 players I wanted to sign in my career and we couldn't," he said, suggesting he would happy to be given a list of targets from which to choose.
"I'm not someone that has no experience and will say, 'Oh, I want to do this and do that', and it's not sensible. You have to be sensible."
He added: "Eden Hazard, we wanted for Liverpool. We couldn't sign him. In our list, maybe he was here [top] but we have to go for this one [lower down]."
Benitez now has Hazard to play alongside Fernando Torres, whose awful form Benitez admitted had been one of the topics of conversation with Abramovich.
Benitez said he would try to "push" as well as "put an arm around" the ?50million man he previously made one of the best strikers around.
He added: "We are not stupid. We know he is a very important player."
As is captain John Terry.
"He is the kind of player you want pushing with you, because that is the key to be successful," Benitez said.
Terry's absence through suspension and injury arguably played a key part in Roberto Di Matteo's downfall as manager and Benitez will also spend his first fortnight in charge without his captain.
That includes Sunday's clash with Premier League champions Manchester City.
"It's a challenge, but you will be sure the motivation will be there," Benitez said of his first game, declaring his squad the equal of any.
"I think Chelsea is as strong as Manchester City or United."
He also insisted they were as hungry, despite finally ending their agonising wait for Champions League glory last season.
Benitez took over an Inter Milan team of thirtysomethings who were not so motivated.
"In Italy they say 'mangia piena' - eat and then you are full," he said, claiming his own two-year break from football had made him hungry for more.
"What I can guarantee is, when you come back, you are more focused, you have better vision and you have more commitment," he said.
"Sometimes, when you are working, you are working so hard that you don't see everything."
He added: "I had massive offers from Asia, the Middle East - massive money and it would have been easy to go there.
"But they were teams that are not as big as this club.
"It doesn't matter that it's for seven months, even three months."
Redknapp, who was named QPR's new boss on Saturday, has made defensive reinforcements one of his top priorities at Loftus Road.
Rock-bottom QPR have struggled defensively this season and have conceded 26 goals so far this term, including three in the defeat by Manchester United.
Redknapp has made a new central defender a priority in the January transfer window and Dawson is thought to be his top target.
Dawson came close to joining QPR in the summer before he eventually turned down the chance to move to Loftus Road.
However, Redknapp, who worked with Dawson at Spurs, will be hoping he can persuade the player to reconsider a switch to QPR in the new year.
Dawson has found himself out of favour under Andre Villas-Boas this season, making just eight appearances in all competitions this season and he could be tempted to move on in search of regular first-team football.
