BY IAIN COLLIN – Capital City Press
Scott Robertson feared his career would be left in limbo after cutting short his Romanian adventure and returning to a skint Scotland.
But the former Hibernian, Dundee United and Dundee midfielder is instead thrilled that Raith Rovers manager Ray McKinnon went the extra mile to hand him a deal for the rest of the season.
Robertson joined FC Botosani after leaving Hibs in the summer but left just weeks later and has cited family reasons for his decision to head home.
The 30-year-old was then offered training facilities by Raith but was told there was no money left in the club’s budget to sign him.
However, McKinnon managed to source an injection of finance from supporters Colin and Margaret Smart, of Fife-based care home operators Kingdom Homes, and the Scotland cap has confessed to being relieved at being able to sort out his immediate future.
He said: “The manager’s been great. He told me when I came in there wouldn’t be funds available but he’s kind of went above and beyond to seek money from somewhere to get me on board.
“I really appreciate that because basically everybody else in Scotland said the same thing, but he’s gone and convinced the board and other people that I’m worth bringing in.
“He’s managed to do that and I’m grateful for that.
“There were a lot of factors that led me to my decision to come home. I can’t really go into them all but my family was the big one and they’re a big reason for coming to Raith Rovers as well, because it means I can spend more time with my wife and my three boys.”
Robertson made his Raith debut as a late substitute in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Morton and, with his last competitive start having come for Hibs last season, he is keen to get back up to speed as quickly as possible.
He added: “I got 15 minutes at the weekend but it felt longer than that! It was good to get first-team football again, but it’s been a long time since I’ve played and you never feel great after such a long time out.
“Hopefully I can now get some time with the under-20s and then be pushing for a starting place.”
@IainCollin
