Cautionary tale from Robbie Keane debut

It is more than six weeks since Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate played and a little over five weeks since Yosuke Ideguchi took the field.  That is an equivalent period to the close season in Scotland.  Consider all three to be in the same physical condition as the squad on their first preseason outing.

The return to full training of Jota and James Forrest are both hugely welcome, but both fall into the same category as our new signings from Japan.  Expect too much from them tonight and we could exacerbate our injury problems.

The bulk of the heavy lifting tonight will be done by the squad that was in place and fit before the transfer window opened.  Tom Rogic singlehandedly destroyed Hibernian when the teams met at Easter Road earlier in the season, so much will fall on his shoulders again tonight.

When you are six points adrift, the next game is always your biggest game of the season.  Need I remind you of the elation ahead of Robbie Keane’s debut away to Kilmarnock on 2010?  A raft of new signings full of confidence joined Robbie on the bus to Ayrshire that night, the title race was all but over before the headed home.

The team will need all our support and patience tonight.