Most Socceroos would go into their shell if they were on the receiving end of a Tony Popovic blast.
But Daniel Arzani says a public dressing down from "the boss" was exactly what he needed.
Arzani returned to Australia’s national team camp this week ahead of crunch World Cup qualifiers against Indonesia in Sydney on Thursday and away to China next Tuesday.
His call-up was perhaps the most contentious of the 26 selected players brought together by Popovic.
Firstly, up until a fortnight ago, Arzani has mainly been contributing for his A-League Men club side Melbourne Victory as an impact sub.
And to add to that, in January this year, Popovic put the 26-year-old on notice, describing the winger’s training effort during last October’s international camp as "not good enough".
"He needs to raise his level. We need goals, we need assists," Popovic said.
"Doing one good dribble, one good trick or setting up one goal should not be enough to play for the Socceroos. There needs to be more."
But Arzani, speaking in his first interview since his public rebuke, said those comments had the desired effect.
"Straight away I knew that he was trying to get a reaction out of me in a positive way," Arzani told AAP.
"He was trying to motivate me, so I didn't look upon it too negatively.
"Me and 'the boss' have a special kind of relationship like that. He knows how to get the best out of me.
"I love working under him because he’s hard - he expects a lot - but he’s fair and he treats everyone equally and if you perform you get rewarded.
"I think I respond well to that because it’s a similar relationship to the one I have with my dad."
So who gives the best telling off?
"My dad," Arzani said, without hesitation.
Perhaps what hit home for Arzani, who was part of the Socceroos' 2018 World Cup squad at the tender age of 19, was that Popovic alluded to his potential.
Injuries and ill-fated stints in Europe have prevented him from making great strides at club level. He still has just seven Socceroos caps to his name.
Arzani said there are times during his international career that his billing as a teen wonderkid as a youngster has worked against him.
"Talking about potential, sometimes what you're actually doing, what you're providing on a day to day basis, goes unnoticed, because people always want more and more," Arzani said.
"Working with 'the boss' feels very rewarding, because he treats everyone very fairly.
"If you do something good, you've done something good and he treats that at face value."
Arzani is out of contract with the Victory at the end of this season and is unsure where his future lies.
One thing is for certain, he wants to play at another World Cup for Australia and is desperate to prove he has the calibre to carve out a career overseas.
"I would want to have another shot of going overseas and seeing what happens," Arzani said.
"But right now it's about finishing off the season strongly for Victory and this camp is so important for the national team - we have to win these two games.
"So short term, just focused on the team and winning, and then for myself, long term, if those things happen, who knows what could happen?
"I feel like I'm ready now.
"Mentally, I'm in a really good place to be able to give it another shot overseas.
"If that opportunity arises in the right way, then I'll be happy to take it."
