Ally Robertson column: Signs that Salomon Rondon is getting the buzz back

But against Manchester City on Wednesday night, I saw some promising signs he is returning to his former gladiatorial self.

It was him who chased down a lost cause to win the corner that Claudio Yacob scored from, and that sort of desire and endeavour should not go unrecognised.

Robson-Kanu is no stranger to a hard-working performance, he’s another striker willing to run and run all day.

But his two glaring misses in the City game may open the door for Rondon to reaffirm his place in the line-up.

It would be great to see the Venezuelan enjoying his football again, like he was in the run-up to Christmas last season.

It helps that he had a secondary striker playing alongside him on Wednesday, and whoever Tony Pulis picks up front needs more help in the final third, whether it’s from another forward or the midfield.

The pleasing thing for the Welshman is he now has options. Last season, the team pretty much picked itself, but competition for places raises everyone’s levels.

Now, when the team isn’t playing well, Pulis can shuffle the pack. He can bring players off the bench to change games, and he can drop those struggling for form if needed.

It’s a good problem to have. I remember when I was playing and we had John Trewick and Bryan Robson fighting it out for the same place.

Johnny Giles played Trewick first, but when Big Ron came in, he picked Bryan first.

They were two very good players, which proves that sometimes, a manager needs to earn his salt on these sort of decisions.

We also had a similar situation with Willie Johnston and Laurie Cunningham, both of them were absolutely out of this world, so which one do you pick?

In our day, there was only one substitute, and if you were out of the side you lost half your money, so there was a huge incentive to get back into the team.

These days, you need to have honest professionals with the right attitude, because they get paid handsomely regardless of whether they’re playing or not.

Rondon and Robson-Kanu are both of that ilk, so their battle will be an interesting one to watch this season.