Liam Craig has put his suspension to good use, but nothing beats playing football.
The St Johnstone midfielder, who sat out the last two matches after getting sent off against Kilmarnock, has secured one of his coaching badges over the last couple of weeks, and has scouted opposition for his manager.
Now the former Hibs and Falkirk man wants to put all the off-field football activities on the back-burner, and get back to kicking a ball about on a Saturday.
“It was tough being out,” he said. “Especially with the international break as well. So effectively it was three weeks.
“But it has given me a chance to recharge the batteries and I’m ready to go again.
“The unbeaten run is still going and I’m just delighted that I’m back in contention and in the manager’s thoughts for Ross County this weekend.
“I was doing my B licence right after the sending off and had defending as my theme for my assessment. I could have just shown a video of my tackle and said ‘this is what you don’t do!’
“It was good to pass that.
“Then the manager got me to watch the Hibs v Alloa game the following Saturday. He’s starting getting reports on Hibs for the semi-final. It shows the trust the manager has got in his players.
“I’ll definitely look to do my A licence in the future, but I want to have three or four more years’ playing and getting a contract sorted out for next year will be my first priority.
“At the moment, I’m just glad that I’ll be available to play in a game again on a Saturday.”
When Craig talks about signing a new contract, he hopes it will be with Saints.
“The sooner the better,” he said.
“The good thing is the club’s in a strong position and the team is as well.
“We’ve got another semi-final to look forward to and we’re going well in the league. In terms of where we were after four games, everyone is delighted. And I’d like to think I’ve played my part in that.
“If we can get a few more wins and hopefully a few more good performances from myself then obviously I’d want to speak to the manager then.
“There’s no rush. The manager’s shown belief and trust in me to bring me back and it’s up to me to keep putting in performances.”
Craig believes his professionalism after signing a pre-contract agreement while he still had a few months as a Saints player helped win him a second stint at McDiarmid Park.
He said: “The way I played in my last few months before leaving was probably one of the reasons the manager brought me back.
“Yes, there were some good times at Hibs, but a lot of managers didn’t want to look at me in the summer.
“But the manager and Callum (Davidson) and Alec (Cleland) knew the sort of character I was and the sort of player. That probably had a big say in me coming back.
“It was tough to start because I didn’t get a pre-season. So that first month was hard because we weren’t getting results as well.
“But after the first international break I started scoring goals and the team started winning games.”
Craig added: “I’ll be 29 this month and I think I’ve got three or four good years in me, but it takes a manager to have that belief in you.
“I just want to pay him back with more good performances and goals and help continue the success that we’ve had.”