Jim Duffy will have gained much, getting to know his players and they becoming more familiar with his methods of management. The young players and newcomer Nacho Novo will also have gained from the trip. Nacho will have experienced nothing like this playing for Raith last season and the younger players will have grown up in a very short space of time.
With two more friendlies to play before the opening league fixture against Hearts the only fear is that so many competitive bounce matches in such a short time could lead to injuries to vital players before the league begins.
With only one day to prepare for the Preston friendly this Saturday it is hoped Jim can field an experienced side and still have enough in reserve for the visit of Rapid Bucharest on Tuesday night. These games are sure to have a competitive edge to them, and though I believe the final results don't matter, what does matter is that we have a strong team to put out against Hearts.
We haven't beaten Hearts for 3 seasons, and a good result next Saturday would be the best possible start for Jim Duffy's new management career. It would win over some Doubting Thomases and give heart to those who have watched Ivano's sometimes pretty feeble efforts to beat that team. Jim must add the steel that was missing, the grit and determination to win that has been lacking for so long in this team. Here's my embarrassingly poor poetic message to Jim Duffy:
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"If you can do that and their skills still flow, and Nacho notches goals galore.
"If you can mould the youngsters into players and they compete for places.
"If you can do all this yet show no favoured faces.
"If you can weld this team of flair players and battlers into a team.
"You still can win the doubters and take us to our dream."
The man who once said no when doctors told him he'd never play again, yet he proved them wrong, can still win the Doubting Thomases over and take the plaudits. Go for it, Jim Boy. From the bottom of my dark blue heart, go for it.