“When I went to Romania it was like I was re-born because I got playing time, I got confidence from the coaches, the players, everybody. It just felt good. My rhythm got back in the games so I was really happy to get the experience.”

Ricketts was clear that the options that he has on the table all come from European clubs, and that none of them are trials — they are contract offers.

“I am very pleased to confirm that we will be playing our first game at Saputo Stadium on June 16th, as planned,” he declared. “At the outset of the work in October, 2011, we explained that our timetable was very tight but that we only had one scenario — to play here on the 16th of June.

“I think the time for experimenting is finished,” said Hart. “We had a series of games in the first round of qualifying and due to injury or unforeseen circumstances I had a lot of different players go through that system. But now we sort of know what we need to do and any sort of changes is not necessary now.”