Food for thought, reckons Robbie

The Rovers, third in England’s second tier, notched four times without reply against the men in maroon in the first of two friendlies in Spain – but the manager was keen to emphasise the value that such an experience will give to his squad.

With the cinch Premiership season fast approaching resumption, Robbie knows the importance of food for thought. 
 
“We’re obviously disappointed to lose the game but I thought it was a good exercise for us; a really good work out,” he told Hearts TV.
 
“A lot of the players got 90 minutes and we’ve only had three training sessions and two games since coming back. I felt that they were a very good Championship teams. They start again in the league next Saturday, so they were quite a bit ahead of us physically.
 
“It would be easy for us to play against teams that we could turn over by four or five goals, but we wanted to play good teams and that’s what Blackburn are. It’s a chance for us to make mistakes and see where we can do better. That’s the most important thing. There were a lot of positives to take. Along with some negatives that we’ll polish up on.
 
“Almeria will be a tough game. They pass the ball very well, that allows us to see areas that are weaker within ourselves and that we can try and work on.”

Watch highlights from this afternoon's game against Blackburn Rovers for free on Hearts TV.