The new signings faced difficulties adapting to the team, as Robertson revealed: "They had signed for a lot of money and it took them months to adapt: we didn't care about football. We had lost one of our best friends in the dressing room." This emotional struggle had a significant impact on the team's performance, as Robertson explained: "We lost our competitive spark and it was hard to perform at our best." The team's poor performance in the last season was partly due to this emotional toll, as Robertson stated: "We were in mourning. It was our friend, not just a footballer: he was a teammate, a friend, everything."