St Johnstone fans would love to see Luke Robinson stay in Perth for the rest of the season and possibly beyond.
But the on-loan Wigan defender is not letting his mind stray too far into the future.
Preparing himself for the Wednesday night challenge of facing League Cup winners, Rangers, is long-term enough for him.
“I don’t look too far ahead,” said Robinson, who hasn’t had any word from Wigan that they are contemplating a January recall.
“You don’t know what is going to happen in a few hours or the next day.
“I’d be open to many things but ultimately I want to concentrate on staying as consistent as possible and trying to get a good result against Rangers.
“I’m just taking each day as it comes. At the minute, I’m happy doing what I’m doing.
“It’s absolutely not a given to be playing football.
“Managers change, systems change and form changes. You can be in and out of a team quicker than you think.
“I’m enjoying it here and the playing is a bonus.”
In at the Parkhead deep end
Robinson made his Saints debut at Celtic Park back in August.
He acquitted himself admirably that afternoon, playing his part in keeping a clean-sheet.
There’s been steady form improvement ever since, with Robinson now one of the first names on Craig Levein’s team-sheet.
“I wasn’t coming here to be a number,” he said.
“We managed to get a good result against Celtic and it gave me a lot of confidence.
“Your main aim as a defender is to keep the ball out the net.
“In the modern game, the demand to get forward is massive but you can’t forget that the ultimate goal is to not concede.”
Versatility
Robinson has played as a left-back in a four, a wing-back and the left-sided centre-half in a three with Saints.
Such has been the high standard of his work, you’d struggle to say which is the 21-year-old’s strongest position.
“When I came through the academy I would always play left-back,” he said. “It was the same when I broke into the first team.
“Different managers come in with different styles and you need to be versatile, pick up a position quite quickly and apply your attributes.
“Playing centre-back is very different to left-back, even though you are just one position in.
“You are marking a completely different type of player.
“At left-back, you can see everything on the pitch. At centre-back, sometimes you are a little blind to players playing on your shoulder.
“In training, the likes of Nicky, Stevie, Kano, Dara and DJ play on your shoulder. You need to be aware, confident, keep your line and be disciplined.”
A couple of weeks ago Mika Biereth rose above Robinson to head home Motherwell’s injury-time equaliser.
His own post-match analysis confirmed he shouldn’t be hard on himself for that goal.
“You look at what you could do better and what the team could do better,” said Robinson.
“Sometimes you swallow your pride and say ‘that was a really good cross and really good header’.
“We had defended endless crosses and attacks in that game but all it takes is one.
“When I look back, I probably wouldn’t change much.
“You just hope the cross is lower or slightly mis-hit.”
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