Saturday's trip to Tannadice was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch, which felt frustrating at first.
Another fixture pile-up to navigate later, another week without points on the board. But maybe it's exactly what we needed.
We've been bouncing from one game to the next without time to properly catch our breath, never mind integrate the January additions.
Jake Young got 20 minutes against Livingston. Kion Etete's barely had time to read my 'Top 10 Palindromic Footballer Names' list, never mind build the kind of understanding with his midfield that a striker in a Stephen Robinson system needs.
Not-quite-new-but-different Tunmise Sobowale looked dangerous in his 15 minutes last Tuesday at Livi, but one promising cameo doesn't necessarily mean immediate match-readiness.
The issue isn't just fitness or form, it's cohesion, which sounds like LinkedIn speak – have you thought about what a 2-2 draw with bottom-of-the-league Livi could teach us about B2B marketing? – but actually matters.
Young's movement is different to what our current strikers offer. He wants the ball in behind, wants to stretch defences vertically. That requires midfield to recognise the runs, to play the pass early, to trust he'll be there.
Etete gives us a proper aerial outlet, but only if wing-backs know when to hit him, if midfielders know when to play into his chest versus when to play around him.
These are tactical relationships that need building, the sort of understanding that can't be fast-tracked, only repeated into existence.
Robinson's been firefighting. Fixtures, absences, arrivals – holding the centre while the edges keep moving.
You can't solve those problems between Tuesday and Saturday. You need time on the grass… or plastic, or swamp, depending on what mood the SPFL is in on any given day.
An extra week means actually having one. Time to build those relationships we've been talking about rather than just hoping they develop on the job.
Time for bodies to feel properly fresh instead of just functional. Time to turn arrivals into integrations, to let Robinson actually coach the things that need coaching rather than just managing the chaos.
Sometimes the best result is no result at all.
Andrew Christie can be found at Misery Hunters
