EXPLOSIONS OF LIFE AND ILL-TIMED SETBACKS

All footballers rely, to some extent, on momentum; wingers in particular. It is as true as any in the case of Ryan Hedges.

Both in the immediacy of his play and the overall trend of his contributions to his team, Hedges is at his best when in full flow.

With the ball in front of him and a few yards of space, the Welshman is as exciting to watch as he is hard to contain.

But where defenders fail, all too often circumstances have succeeded, cutting Hedges down just as he has begun to bloom.

His Aberdeen career has been a series of explosions into life, followed by ill-timed setbacks just as he had cemented his place as the kingpin of the Dons attack.

Most often it has been injuries, of which he has been a disproportionate sufferer, but he has also been sporadically hindered by the loss of Scott Wright – his partner in attacking telepathy – and most recently by the appearance that speculation over his future was affecting his play.

So it was pleasing to see Hedges back at the sharp end of an adventurous Aberdeen performance after more than three months off the scoresheet, and the Dons must hope that it is the spark which sets off his latest hot streak.

That is the case regardless of whether he remains at Pittodrie beyond June – or even January – for this is the reality of football in the era of freedom of contract. Clubs must maximise what they can extract from players while they are around, and not get too precious when they cease to be.

When footballers leave for new challenges it is rarely personal.

Everyone wins when the finite nature of their presence is tacitly accepted, and their tenure is not poisoned by the knowledge that it must end.