Capital Punishment

Since the arrival of Steve Lomas, life has been a dream for Saints fans. There is little doubt that Derek McInnes left a strong group of players for Lomas and Wright to work with, but the transformation in our play has been incredible.

I always argued that Saints fans wouldn’t realise how bad McInnes was until he left, but I must admit I’m stunned that Stevie has transformed us in such a short period of time. I think it’s vital that we stand back and take stock of the real situation, for his protection as much as anything.

Fans can bury their heads in the sand if they wish, but the stark transformation in Haber and Anderson is an obvious endorsement of Lomas treating the players with the utmost respect. It worries me slightly that I haven’t yet heard a bad word against Lomas, but then I’m reminded that few folk ever spoke ill of Walter Smith. I also need to remember that Lomas is flattered by following someone like Del.

He clearly has a great eye for talent; Scotty Gray was training with the seniors and listed as a subby at Tynecastle. It’s nice to have a manager who sees what I see in players. He has also been quick to attack Haber for being apathetic and whereas Del never improved Haber’s work-rate, Lomas seems to be making progress in that respect.

He’ll have the majority of fans on his side after the meet the manager event at the old Saints club. He has an easy going manner and speaks in a manner that evokes great memories of Owen Coyle’s great speeches. He uses passionate language and indulges in platitudes that somehow don’t sound trite. Like our majority shareholder, he is great for a quote when he knows he’s “off-record”.

The fitness coach he brought in seemed to have the lads buzzing, but even before that the players were in buoyant mood; laughing and joking with each other. The whole place has taken a shot in the arm. Even in the ticket office, things were more upbeat; perhaps due to the presence of Roddy “The Legend” Grant. I hasten to add it certainly had nothing to do with Mrs Malcolm being on holiday...

So what has Lomas done to transform things? Put simply, he treats every player with respect and encourages them to give their best in every session, bounce match and competitive game. From the moment Del departed, Anderson became an even better player. It is incredible to think that folk wanted him out the door. He has been instrumental in our results at Tannadice, Ibrox, Tynecastle and in the win over Hibs. Were it not for Ando, we’d have been skelped by Daniel O’Lennon’s Paisley pricks.

It seems astounding that the broken guy wandering the stands at Parkhead is the same proud tiger that protects Enckleman throughout the country. What a difference a gaffer makes. Talk of a Scotland call-up is daft, because he plays for a diddy club. If McCoist has any money, he’ll come in for Ando and Haber in January. If Lomas has any sense, he’ll plead with Wee Broonie to make money available and offer an extended deal to Ando, a deal which could see him get a richly deserved testimonial. We can save on some wages by binning Willie Gibson and Cillian Sheridan in the New Year.

I’m not going into details of either game as there is little point. The Hibs game was a shambles because of the elements. The swirling wind and heavy rain made passing (at any height) difficult to complete. Several folk stood out in the two games, but none more so than Peter Enckleman. The Finn, who had a dreadful start to the league campaign at Aberdeen, has looked like a top class keeper since the game at Fir Park. The save from Griffiths (?) was top drawer and it was cruel beyond a word that, despite getting a paw to Sanitary Towell’s shot, none of the defenders were able to get back and clear the ball.

His performance, in the worst possible conditions for a keeper, was near flawless. At Tynecastle he made several smart stops, many of them coming through a ruck of players. He thoroughly deserves to be praised. I’ve been critical of him in previous reports, but I am always delighted when a series of strong displays forces me to re-evaluate my thoughts on a player. Enckleman, for me, has now earned a buffer, whereby if he has some shabby performances, he should retain the shirt. I really wish he’d come right over to the Roseburn at the end of the game, he thoroughly deserved his moment in the sun.

Following my twitter post about Murray Davidson having the heart of a lion, Paul Smith and Stevie Lomas alluded to his mental strength in the official interview. He clearly pulled his hamstring with about 20 minutes remaining. Our brilliant physio spotted it and went to Tommy Wright who made an immediate enquiry. It came as surprise, though it shouldn’t have, when Muzz signalled that he wanted the subby delayed. Having already lost Frazer Wright, who was woeful in the first half against Hibs, but fine thereafter, we didn’t have the luxury of making subbies and Finners was clearly on his knees.

Muzz’s finishing might be on par with mine, but his bravery and commitment are to be admired and respected. I’d still have big Jamie in the squad ahead of him, but as at Aberdeen, I left the ground full of praise for Murray Davidson. What remains to be seen is how we cope if Muzz and Morris both miss out against Motherwell. I strongly suspect we’ll do rather well, Adams and Moon certainly dominated at Fir Park and that result wasn’t too shabby. As I said, for all his faults, Del has left a top six side. Don’t remember many Saints fans acknowledging that before we headed to Pittodrie.

As Lomas said, “You’d go to war with them!” His turn of phrase will persuade players to this club. That’s a talent that will stand him in good stead as almost every SPL club plunges the knife deep into the wage budget.

Couple of other points from these last two games, Callum Davidson is really getting to grips with football again. I must admit that his form disappointed me in the first quarter; I also forgot how short he is! Against Rangers, Hibs and Hearts he played some terrific football. Helped by Liam being in the best form of his Saints career, he has looked at least as good as Danny Grainger.

He might lack Danny’s long throw and excellent set-piece delivery, but his long range passing is out of this world. He hit one cross-field pass, midway through the second half yesterday, which Ginola would have been proud of. I guess it shows that we you don’t use it, you lose it. He essentially didn’t play between February and August and it takes time to recover form, confidence and touch.

The other that’s notable under Lomas is the solidarity amongst the squad. I remember questioning Del’s signings in terms of the “togetherness” of the squad. The Dundee United draw at home was a case in point; even though we should have went for the jugular in the second half, we still should have been able to see out the win from 3-2. You get the impression that had Lomas and Wright been in charge, we would have!

There has been a terrific calmness in the defence in our last three games. No panic stations, just organisation and coolness. Our defence just seem to be under less pressure and make better decisions as a result. Of course, the excellent form of Peter Enckleman is an added bonus and certainly adds to their confidence.

We have great strength in depth. May, Gartland, Adams, Parkin, Maybury, Higgins and Mannus have hardly featured this season and they are all excellent players. We have the squad to make top six, that’s beyond doubt. Frankly, less than top six will be a disappointment, assuming Sandaza stays fit and plays nicely. Europe would be great, but it would need some luck. The under 19s are now free until February so I expect Mayzo, Rikki and Scotty to perhaps go out on loan. Makes sense, even if we don’t money it keeps the boys sharp and broadens their experience.

What is undeniable is that Stevie Lomas has got off to a flyer. He’ll have some bad times and he’ll get things wrong soon enough; that’s only natural, he’s a rookie after all. If all we stick together, we’ll jump the hurdles and in unity we’ll keep the blue flag flying high!

One final, encouraging thought. Hibs brought around 700 to Perth; we took almost 150% of that figure to Tynecastle. The Lomas effect is happening before our very eyes; join the blue army for the ride of a lifetime!