BY DARREN JOHNSTONE – Capital City Press
Raith Rovers midfielder Scott Robertson reckons Hibs head coach Alan Stubbs has assembled a stronger squad than last season.
The 30-year-old will go up against his old club for the first time today after turning down the offer of a new one-year deal at the Leith outfit during the summer.
Robertson joined Ray McKinnon’s side three weeks ago following a two-month spell in Romania with Botosani.
And the experienced playmaker acknowledges that Raith face a tough challenge in trying to leap-frog Hibs back into second place in the Championship this afternoon.
Robertson said: “I think the only difference from last season would be that Hibs have a lot more depth.
“They rotated again for the midweek win over Falkirk, with Liam Fontaine dropping to the bench so they have that ability to rest players.
“There is plenty of competition for places and I would say overall, they have a stronger squad this season.
“The manager at Raith brought me in for that reason, to add to the depth of the Raith squad.
“It is great that he managed to push that deal over the line and bring me in.
“From a Hibs perspective last season, Raith were a tricky fixture. We only won one of the four games.
“I’d like to think we can cause them problems again, starting on Saturday.”
Despite facing his old team, Robertson insists his only motivation is getting three points for Rovers.
He added: “I still have a lot of friends there and I think I played some of the best football of my career under Alan Stubbs last season.
“So I don’t think I have a point to prove. It’s not like I was left out in the cold.
“The way things worked out, there was no negotiating with the club – it was just a take it, or leave it offer.
“The main thing for me was the length of the contract. I was wanting more than one year but they weren’t willing to offer that.
“My position was that I wanted to stay there and the club were great offering me a contract but we couldn’t agree on it and that was the reason I decided to look elsewhere.”
