St Johnstone manager Craig Levein has admitted getting Graham Carey’s game-time right will be a tricky balancing act this season.
The former Plymouth Argyle and CSKA Sofia man is Saints’ oldest player but most creative.
Levein knows that Carey can cut a defence open or score a goal in the blink of an eye.
But he also knows that over-using a 35-year-old carries the danger of “running him into the ground”.
Levein explained: “Graham and I had a conversation and he was saying: ‘I didn’t expect to play as many games as I did play last season’.
“Like Nicky Clark, he’s got so much knowledge. You want to have these type of players in the team all the time.
“But the other side of that is obviously Nicky’s got injury worries.
“And what’s Graham now, 35?
“So at 35, he can’t do the same as he did at 25.”
Levein, who has given Carey one start in the Premiership so far, added: “I’m going to use him when, and how, I feel is most appropriate.
“But because he’s that good sometimes you just put him in the team anyway.
“So there’s that thought process in my head of giving him a rest and then the other side goes – can we afford to give him a rest?
“He can do these things that other people can’t.
“So we’ll see what happens with him this season.
“But if we keep him fit and if we don’t run him into the ground, I’m sure he can help us enormously.”
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