Ian Holloway reckoned he was almost a blubbering wreck - and that was before he got out of the QPR dressing room.
Ol heard the strains of the Pigbag song that heralds Hoops arrival on to the pitch, and that was enough.
When he got the rapturous welcome on top from the 15,000 home fans, he reckoned he needed to be the swan - all calm on the surface with legs going like the clappers underneath.
"Can't look a blubbering weasel, even when I heard 'Hoops', I thought. But I'll have a tear later after I head them chant 'we've got our Rangers back' ", he said.
Rangers and Ol got the bonus of seeing Norwich down to 10 men in the second minute, but even with a rearranged set-up - and two men in attack, Rs rode their luck.
"The longer we went, the more nervous we got - that's about what happened here before.
"We made it tougher than it should have been - but sometimes 10 men can make you look silly. You must press the ball no matter what time of the game it is.
" Our team were set slightly defensive but with two strikers, and then Robbo (Jack Robinson) gets injured, and he's our only lefter with Jake Bidwell injured - but Joel Lynch in there was absolutely phenomenal .
"I said to him - 'you got to show how those wide men how to run down the wings.' "
Holloway had one more parting pop at the old club's crest.
He didn't like this one...
...and much prefers the current one.
"I never liked that new one - it's all a bit too...spangly," he said. "The new one is a bit more like the old one and the way it should be."
With thanks to BBC Radio London.
