diff --git a/internal/controller/etcdcluster_controller.go b/internal/controller/etcdcluster_controller.go
index 03eaec9..334878f 100644
--- a/internal/controller/etcdcluster_controller.go
+++ b/internal/controller/etcdcluster_controller.go
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ func (r *EtcdClusterReconciler) Reconcile(ctx context.Context, req ctrl.Request)
 
 		// update sts pod template (and only pod template) if it doesn't match desired state
 		if !state.statefulSetPodSpecCorrect() { // TODO: needs implementing
-			desiredSts := factory.TemplateStatefulSet() // TODO: needs implementing
+			desiredSts := factory.TemplateStatefulSet(state.instance) // TODO: needs implementing
 			state.statefulSet.Spec.Template.Spec = desiredSts.Spec.Template.Spec
 			return ctrl.Result{}, r.patchOrCreateObject(ctx, &state.statefulSet)
 		}
diff --git a/internal/controller/factory/statefulset.go b/internal/controller/factory/statefulset.go
index 202419b..54bfcd9 100644
--- a/internal/controller/factory/statefulset.go
+++ b/internal/controller/factory/statefulset.go
@@ -31,8 +31,8 @@ import (
 	ctrl "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
 
+	"github.com/aenix-io/etcd-operator/api/v1alpha1"
 	etcdaenixiov1alpha1 "github.com/aenix-io/etcd-operator/api/v1alpha1"
-	"github.com/aenix-io/etcd-operator/internal/k8sutils"
 	"github.com/aenix-io/etcd-operator/internal/log"
 )
 
@@ -42,8 +42,90 @@ const (
 )
 
 // TODO!
-func TemplateStatefulSet() *appsv1.StatefulSet {
-	panic("not yet implemented")
+func TemplateStatefulSet(c *v1alpha1.EtcdCluster) *appsv1.StatefulSet {
+	labels := func(c *v1alpha1.EtcdCluster) map[string]string {
+		return map[string]string{
+			"app.kubernetes.io/name":       "etcd",
+			"app.kubernetes.io/instance":   c.Name,
+			"app.kubernetes.io/managed-by": "etcd-operator",
+		}
+	}
+	volumeClaimTemplates := func(c *v1alpha1.EtcdCluster) []corev1.PersistentVolumeClaim {
+		if c.Spec.Storage.EmptyDir != nil {
+			return nil
+		}
+		return []corev1.PersistentVolumeClaim{
+			{
+				ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: "data"},
+				Spec:       c.Spec.Storage.VolumeClaimTemplate.Spec,
+			},
+		}
+	}
+	s := &appsv1.StatefulSet{
+		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+			Name:      c.Name,
+			Namespace: c.Namespace,
+		},
+		Spec: appsv1.StatefulSetSpec{
+			Replicas:            c.Spec.Replicas,
+			PodManagementPolicy: appsv1.ParallelPodManagement,
+			ServiceName:         fmt.Sprintf("%s-headless", c.Name),
+			Selector: &metav1.LabelSelector{
+				MatchLabels: labels(c),
+			},
+			Template: corev1.PodTemplateSpec{
+				ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+					Labels: labels(c),
+				},
+				Spec: corev1.PodSpec{
+					Containers: []corev1.Container{{
+						Name:  etcdContainerName,
+						Image: etcdaenixiov1alpha1.DefaultEtcdImage,
+						Args:  generateEtcdArgs(c),
+						Ports: []corev1.ContainerPort{
+							{Name: "metrics", ContainerPort: 2381},
+							{Name: "peer", ContainerPort: 2380},
+							{Name: "client", ContainerPort: 2379},
+						},
+						EnvFrom: []corev1.EnvFromSource{
+							{
+								ConfigMapRef: &corev1.ConfigMapEnvSource{
+									LocalObjectReference: corev1.LocalObjectReference{
+										Name: fmt.Sprintf("%s-cluster-state", c.Name),
+									},
+								},
+							},
+						},
+						Env: []corev1.EnvVar{
+							{
+								Name: "POD_NAME",
+								ValueFrom: &corev1.EnvVarSource{
+									FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
+										FieldPath: "metadata.name",
+									},
+								},
+							},
+							{
+								Name: "POD_NAMESPACE",
+								ValueFrom: &corev1.EnvVarSource{
+									FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
+										FieldPath: "metadata.namespace",
+									},
+								},
+							},
+						},
+						StartupProbe:   getStartupProbe(),
+						LivenessProbe:  getLivenessProbe(),
+						ReadinessProbe: getReadinessProbe(),
+						VolumeMounts:   generateVolumeMounts(c),
+					}},
+					Volumes: generateVolumes(c),
+				},
+			},
+			VolumeClaimTemplates: volumeClaimTemplates(c),
+		},
+	}
+	return s
 }
 
 func PodLabels(cluster *etcdaenixiov1alpha1.EtcdCluster) map[string]string {
@@ -63,62 +145,27 @@ func CreateOrUpdateStatefulSet(
 	cluster *etcdaenixiov1alpha1.EtcdCluster,
 	rclient client.Client,
 ) error {
-	podMetadata := metav1.ObjectMeta{
-		Labels: PodLabels(cluster),
-	}
-
-	if cluster.Spec.PodTemplate.Annotations != nil {
-		podMetadata.Annotations = cluster.Spec.PodTemplate.Annotations
-	}
-
-	volumeClaimTemplates := make([]corev1.PersistentVolumeClaim, 0)
-	if cluster.Spec.Storage.EmptyDir == nil {
-		volumeClaimTemplates = append(volumeClaimTemplates, corev1.PersistentVolumeClaim{
-			ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
-				Name:        GetPVCName(cluster),
-				Labels:      cluster.Spec.Storage.VolumeClaimTemplate.Labels,
-				Annotations: cluster.Spec.Storage.VolumeClaimTemplate.Annotations,
-			},
-			Spec:   cluster.Spec.Storage.VolumeClaimTemplate.Spec,
-			Status: cluster.Spec.Storage.VolumeClaimTemplate.Status,
-		})
-	}
+	/*
+		// This is kept as an example of how override pod spec is merged with base pod spec
+		// for the future, when we get round to restoring this feature
+		basePodSpec := corev1.PodSpec{
+			Containers: []corev1.Container{generateContainer(cluster)},
+			Volumes:    volumes,
+		}
+		if cluster.Spec.PodTemplate.Spec.Containers == nil {
+			cluster.Spec.PodTemplate.Spec.Containers = make([]corev1.Container, 0)
+		}
+		finalPodSpec, err := k8sutils.StrategicMerge(basePodSpec, cluster.Spec.PodTemplate.Spec)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("cannot strategic-merge base podspec with podTemplate.spec: %w", err)
+		}
+	*/
 
-	volumes := generateVolumes(cluster)
+	statefulSet := TemplateStatefulSet(cluster)
 
-	basePodSpec := corev1.PodSpec{
-		Containers: []corev1.Container{generateContainer(cluster)},
-		Volumes:    volumes,
-	}
-	if cluster.Spec.PodTemplate.Spec.Containers == nil {
-		cluster.Spec.PodTemplate.Spec.Containers = make([]corev1.Container, 0)
-	}
-	finalPodSpec, err := k8sutils.StrategicMerge(basePodSpec, cluster.Spec.PodTemplate.Spec)
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("cannot strategic-merge base podspec with podTemplate.spec: %w", err)
-	}
-
-	statefulSet := &appsv1.StatefulSet{
-		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
-			Namespace: cluster.Namespace,
-			Name:      cluster.Name,
-		},
-		Spec: appsv1.StatefulSetSpec{
-			// initialize static fields that cannot be changed across updates.
-			Replicas:            cluster.Spec.Replicas,
-			ServiceName:         GetHeadlessServiceName(cluster),
-			PodManagementPolicy: appsv1.ParallelPodManagement,
-			Selector: &metav1.LabelSelector{
-				MatchLabels: NewLabelsBuilder().WithName().WithInstance(cluster.Name).WithManagedBy(),
-			},
-			Template: corev1.PodTemplateSpec{
-				ObjectMeta: podMetadata,
-				Spec:       finalPodSpec,
-			},
-			VolumeClaimTemplates: volumeClaimTemplates,
-		},
-	}
-	ctx, err = contextWithGVK(ctx, statefulSet, rclient.Scheme())
+	// This line used to be an assignment rather than a declaration and redefining
+	// the surrounding function's arguments looks really really wrong
+	ctx, err := contextWithGVK(ctx, statefulSet, rclient.Scheme())
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -134,31 +181,17 @@ func CreateOrUpdateStatefulSet(
 func generateVolumes(cluster *etcdaenixiov1alpha1.EtcdCluster) []corev1.Volume {
 	volumes := []corev1.Volume{}
 
-	var dataVolumeSource corev1.VolumeSource
-
 	if cluster.Spec.Storage.EmptyDir != nil {
-		dataVolumeSource = corev1.VolumeSource{EmptyDir: cluster.Spec.Storage.EmptyDir}
-	} else {
-		dataVolumeSource = corev1.VolumeSource{
-			PersistentVolumeClaim: &corev1.PersistentVolumeClaimVolumeSource{
-				ClaimName: GetPVCName(cluster),
-			},
-		}
-	}
-
-	volumes = append(
-		volumes,
-
-		corev1.Volume{
+		volumes = append(volumes, corev1.Volume{
 			Name:         "data",
-			VolumeSource: dataVolumeSource,
-		},
-	)
+			VolumeSource: corev1.VolumeSource{EmptyDir: cluster.Spec.Storage.EmptyDir},
+		})
+	}
 
-	if cluster.Spec.Security != nil && cluster.Spec.Security.TLS.PeerSecret != "" {
-		volumes = append(volumes,
-			[]corev1.Volume{
-				{
+	if cluster.Spec.Security != nil {
+		if cluster.Spec.Security.TLS.PeerSecret != "" {
+			volumes = append(volumes,
+				corev1.Volume{
 					Name: "peer-trusted-ca-certificate",
 					VolumeSource: corev1.VolumeSource{
 						Secret: &corev1.SecretVolumeSource{
@@ -166,7 +199,7 @@ func generateVolumes(cluster *etcdaenixiov1alpha1.EtcdCluster) []corev1.Volume {
 						},
 					},
 				},
-				{
+				corev1.Volume{
 					Name: "peer-certificate",
 					VolumeSource: corev1.VolumeSource{
 						Secret: &corev1.SecretVolumeSource{
@@ -174,35 +207,30 @@ func generateVolumes(cluster *etcdaenixiov1alpha1.EtcdCluster) []corev1.Volume {
 						},
 					},
 				},
-			}...)
-	}
+			)
+		}
 
-	if cluster.Spec.Security != nil && cluster.Spec.Security.TLS.ServerSecret != "" {
-		volumes = append(volumes,
-			[]corev1.Volume{
-				{
-					Name: "server-certificate",
-					VolumeSource: corev1.VolumeSource{
-						Secret: &corev1.SecretVolumeSource{
-							SecretName: cluster.Spec.Security.TLS.ServerSecret,
-						},
+		if cluster.Spec.Security.TLS.ServerSecret != "" {
+			volumes = append(volumes, corev1.Volume{
+				Name: "server-certificate",
+				VolumeSource: corev1.VolumeSource{
+					Secret: &corev1.SecretVolumeSource{
+						SecretName: cluster.Spec.Security.TLS.ServerSecret,
 					},
 				},
-			}...)
-	}
+			})
+		}
 
-	if cluster.Spec.Security != nil && cluster.Spec.Security.TLS.ClientSecret != "" {
-		volumes = append(volumes,
-			[]corev1.Volume{
-				{
-					Name: "client-trusted-ca-certificate",
-					VolumeSource: corev1.VolumeSource{
-						Secret: &corev1.SecretVolumeSource{
-							SecretName: cluster.Spec.Security.TLS.ClientTrustedCASecret,
-						},
+		if cluster.Spec.Security.TLS.ClientSecret != "" {
+			volumes = append(volumes, corev1.Volume{
+				Name: "client-trusted-ca-certificate",
+				VolumeSource: corev1.VolumeSource{
+					Secret: &corev1.SecretVolumeSource{
+						SecretName: cluster.Spec.Security.TLS.ClientTrustedCASecret,
 					},
 				},
-			}...)
+			})
+		}
 	}
 
 	return volumes
@@ -219,51 +247,42 @@ func generateVolumeMounts(cluster *etcdaenixiov1alpha1.EtcdCluster) []corev1.Vol
 		MountPath: "/var/run/etcd",
 	})
 
-	if cluster.Spec.Security != nil && cluster.Spec.Security.TLS.PeerSecret != "" {
-		volumeMounts = append(volumeMounts, []corev1.VolumeMount{
-			{
-				Name:      "peer-trusted-ca-certificate",
-				ReadOnly:  true,
-				MountPath: "/etc/etcd/pki/peer/ca",
-			},
-			{
-				Name:      "peer-certificate",
-				ReadOnly:  true,
-				MountPath: "/etc/etcd/pki/peer/cert",
-			},
-		}...)
-	}
+	if cluster.Spec.Security != nil {
+		if cluster.Spec.Security.TLS.PeerSecret != "" {
+			volumeMounts = append(volumeMounts,
+				corev1.VolumeMount{
+					Name:      "peer-trusted-ca-certificate",
+					ReadOnly:  true,
+					MountPath: "/etc/etcd/pki/peer/ca",
+				},
+				corev1.VolumeMount{
+					Name:      "peer-certificate",
+					ReadOnly:  true,
+					MountPath: "/etc/etcd/pki/peer/cert",
+				},
+			)
+		}
 
-	if cluster.Spec.Security != nil && cluster.Spec.Security.TLS.ServerSecret != "" {
-		volumeMounts = append(volumeMounts, []corev1.VolumeMount{
-			{
+		if cluster.Spec.Security.TLS.ServerSecret != "" {
+			volumeMounts = append(volumeMounts, corev1.VolumeMount{
 				Name:      "server-certificate",
 				ReadOnly:  true,
 				MountPath: "/etc/etcd/pki/server/cert",
-			},
-		}...)
-	}
-
-	if cluster.Spec.Security != nil && cluster.Spec.Security.TLS.ClientSecret != "" {
+			})
+		}
 
-		volumeMounts = append(volumeMounts, []corev1.VolumeMount{
-			{
+		if cluster.Spec.Security.TLS.ClientSecret != "" {
+			volumeMounts = append(volumeMounts, corev1.VolumeMount{
 				Name:      "client-trusted-ca-certificate",
 				ReadOnly:  true,
 				MountPath: "/etc/etcd/pki/client/ca",
-			},
-		}...)
+			})
+		}
 	}
 
 	return volumeMounts
 }
 
-func generateEtcdCommand() []string {
-	return []string{
-		"etcd",
-	}
-}
-
 func generateEtcdArgs(cluster *etcdaenixiov1alpha1.EtcdCluster) []string {
 	args := []string{}
 
@@ -355,54 +374,6 @@ func generateEtcdArgs(cluster *etcdaenixiov1alpha1.EtcdCluster) []string {
 	return args
 }
 
-func generateContainer(cluster *etcdaenixiov1alpha1.EtcdCluster) corev1.Container {
-	podEnv := []corev1.EnvVar{
-		{
-			Name: "POD_NAME",
-			ValueFrom: &corev1.EnvVarSource{
-				FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
-					FieldPath: "metadata.name",
-				},
-			},
-		},
-		{
-			Name: "POD_NAMESPACE",
-			ValueFrom: &corev1.EnvVarSource{
-				FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{
-					FieldPath: "metadata.namespace",
-				},
-			},
-		},
-	}
-
-	c := corev1.Container{}
-	c.Name = etcdContainerName
-	c.Image = etcdaenixiov1alpha1.DefaultEtcdImage
-	c.Command = generateEtcdCommand()
-	c.Args = generateEtcdArgs(cluster)
-	c.Ports = []corev1.ContainerPort{
-		{Name: "peer", ContainerPort: 2380},
-		{Name: "client", ContainerPort: 2379},
-	}
-	clusterStateConfigMapName := GetClusterStateConfigMapName(cluster)
-	c.EnvFrom = []corev1.EnvFromSource{
-		{
-			ConfigMapRef: &corev1.ConfigMapEnvSource{
-				LocalObjectReference: corev1.LocalObjectReference{
-					Name: clusterStateConfigMapName,
-				},
-			},
-		},
-	}
-	c.StartupProbe = getStartupProbe()
-	c.LivenessProbe = getLivenessProbe()
-	c.ReadinessProbe = getReadinessProbe()
-	c.Env = podEnv
-	c.VolumeMounts = generateVolumeMounts(cluster)
-
-	return c
-}
-
 func getStartupProbe() *corev1.Probe {
 	return &corev1.Probe{
 		ProbeHandler: corev1.ProbeHandler{
diff --git a/internal/controller/factory/statefulset_test.go b/internal/controller/factory/statefulset_test.go
index 64d4660..9d0ad9c 100644
--- a/internal/controller/factory/statefulset_test.go
+++ b/internal/controller/factory/statefulset_test.go
@@ -179,10 +179,6 @@ var _ = Describe("CreateOrUpdateStatefulSet handler", func() {
 				Expect(statefulSet.Spec.Template.ObjectMeta.Annotations).To(Equal(etcdcluster.Spec.PodTemplate.Annotations))
 			})
 
-			By("Checking the command", func() {
-				Expect(statefulSet.Spec.Template.Spec.Containers[0].Command).To(Equal(generateEtcdCommand()))
-			})
-
 			By("Checking the extraArgs", func() {
 				Expect(statefulSet.Spec.Template.Spec.Containers[0].Args).To(Equal(generateEtcdArgs(&etcdcluster)))
 				By("Checking args are sorted", func() {