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Paul Smith - A Tribute

When Steve Lomas was appointed as manager of St Johnstone; so Steve Brown became Chairman.

With both men new to their roles, one man has had his hands full in recent times, out-going Commercial Manager, Paul Smith. Paul is one the old school; efficient, intelligent, witty and free of political correctness which blights much of society.  He is generous to a fault and, in conjunction with Stan Harris, has worked hard to drag the club into the 20^th century!

I have been privileged to enjoy dealings with Paul over the last 6 years and I am still hurting at his departure from Saints. Here is a little story of the great void his departure will leave.

When Paul and I first became acquainted, I was running a local chip shop and figured that by using Saints, I could advertise my business. We ran several promotions intended to improve my business whilst promoting the club at the same time. During this period, I was amazed by Paul’s effort to help and also by the times he replied to emails. It was an early glimpse to the hours he was putting in.

Ultimately, I failed in the chip shop and found myself in a call centre. Paul never once treated me any differently, despite no longer paying for an advertising hoarding. He wouldn’t do that, he’s not that type.

In more recent times I got to know Paul in a different capacity. Information was exchanged via email; often unpolished ideas aimed at revenue generation, occasionally focussing on our dwindling attendances. These were usually high-level, missing detail or structure. Paul never failed to reply to each and every email. I once sent him ideas from some external research I had carried out. I prefaced the email with a line saying something like, “If this is rubbish, tell me to beat it.” Within a few hours, I had an amusing and detailed reply in which Paul explained that all ideas were always welcome. In my reply I told him not to waste time giving me detailed explanations, if they took the idea on board I’d be happy, if they didn’t I know they’d have good reason to decide against it. A few minutes later Paul explained that it would be discourteous not to reply. This email really was a measure of the man. He has been raised with a firm and correct set of values and they apply to all aspects of his life. Again, this email exchange took place outside of Paul’s “office hours”.

During the last few years, special people in my life have celebrated big birthdays. Paul went to great trouble to ensure that they felt special. What many people may not realise is that all of these things are essentially above and beyond his remit.

Paul’s role became one of the biggest at the club, not bad for a bloke who started as a casual volunteer! He had a key role to play in transfer activity, player registration, event management, advertising activities, organising the soccer skills programme, ensuring the corporate side ran smoothly, writing and maintaining the official website and other social media platforms.

He responded to almost every email the club received over the last years. He never once used external agencies for such responses and that speaks volumes for him. When the season ticket packs dropped through the door, I couldn’t help but wonder how many man-hours went into their design and production, Paul was involved in almost every word. I hope the number of Season Tickets sold, eclipses the number from three years ago because the Ormond thing was driven by Paul.

New strips are available to pre-order from Campus Sports and Paul had to deal with the interesting characters at TTL as well as liaising with Campus Sports in Perth’s High Street to ensure a high profile launch. He’d deal with pre-season fixtures, work with other clubs to negotiate ticket allocations/sales and ensure that our website had a full build up to away games including travel announcements.

When the national press wanted to pile misery on all at Saints following the stupid cancellation of the Rangers match, it was Paul who delivered the press release to baying journalists and it was his stiff upper lip which kept the lid on the subsequent hullaballoo. Our club is often criticised for not getting enough press coverage, but we’ve kept plenty of bad news stories out of the press and that, for any business, is far more important.

It’s impossible for me to do justice to Paul Smith in this format. Whether it was arranging “Cards 4 Hards” for Martin Hardie during his career threatening injury, discussing a possible CIC initiative, sharing U19 match reports, tweaking the website or debating the merits of other clubs marketing ideas  he was personable, professional and practical.

I know he’s moving to something he’s wanted to do for a long time, but I really wish he had changed his mind. Our club is losing a star player. His loss is bigger than Fran, Encks and Jody combined. He worked tirelessly for a club he loved and employers he respected.

My fervent hope is that his replacement is given time and space to learn and grow. Paul was richly enshrined in the Saints way long before becoming an employee of St Johnstone Football Club Limited. The new man won’t have such a luxury. One thing Paul did have, was the guidance of Stewart Duff.  Whatever his public perception, Mr Duff will be in great demand this summer and will surely play a key role in training and equipping Paul’s replacement. I know that the club are working with Paul to ensure that he can remain involved with Saints.

In closing, I have one last story. The last time I went to Tynecastle was for the Scottish Cup Game. I had left it late to buy my ticket and noticed they were on sale on the morning of the match. I went along and found Paul selling tickets from his office. He shouldn’t have had to give up time to do such a menial task yet he did so without complaint. Whilst doing so, he was involved in a discussion about locking the park after the team bus’ departure and was paying attention to the club’s Twitter page at the same time. All on his “day off”.

Paul, if you read this, I’ll miss you and I’m gutted you’re leaving our club. Thank you for excellent customer service, stellar communication, unparalleled commitment and for being a thoroughly decent bloke. It’s unlikely that anyone will replace you in the fullest sense of the word. My best wishes are with you in your new role. Look after yourself and enjoy yourself. You’re a club legend; you might not have had a squad number but if you did, it would be retired as a gesture of respect for loyal service above and beyond the call of duty. Thank you, boss.

Season Ticket Plea

As many of you know, I have taken the difficult decision to move away from Perth and begin a new life in the South of England. Aside from my leaving my family, there were two major wrenches in this decision; leaving behind my motor racing family at Knockhill and putting myself on the sidelines of supporting the football club I love.

I only have vague recollections of my first Saints game, which is perhaps a good thing! I went, with my grandad to watch my Aberdeen team play his St Johnstone team. Aberdeen won, I returned to Colonsay Street a St Johnstone fan for life!

Work, university and financial struggles have caused my attendance to be pretty skimpy throughout the last 27 years. As I move my things down South, it’s clear that my attendance record will not improve in near future. I will continue to back the club financially by renewing my season ticket and I will also make every effort to ensure that my ticket is used by those who will vocally support my team. I will continue to defend the club using social media outlets and I will work hard to raise the profile of both McDiarmid Park as a facility and the club as a community based function.

The season ticket packs are very late in being sent this year and with good reason. The club are struggling to agree on a budget for the coming year due to several outside factors. The revenue we can generate over this coming year is affected by several external factors such as; Rangers survival, European football and correct receipt of monies due by other clubs. The double dip recession may not have affected the gates, but has dramatically impinged upon the success of our corporate income. Further complicating the issue is the strategic discussion on how best to snare the four and five year olds who, like me, could easily become fans for life – supporting the club long after the current board shuffle off the planet.

Our manager is clearly exasperated by the state of flux and has upset many with his clumsy tone. His honesty and passion for our club are to be admired, but perhaps he needs to be more stoical in order to facilitate a stronger working relationship with our board, his employer. Our budget has been strong for several seasons, far higher than I would allow were I in charge. Some will argue the gamble paid off, especially as we received money for Del and Doc as well as extra pennies for our top six finish. With some perversity, we may even qualify for Europe, albeit undeservedly. Were I setting the budget, we’d have no Enckleman, Morris, Davidson et al. That said, Fran Sandaza is hardly on big money and it could be decades before we are privileged to watch such a great player ply his trade in our strip.

This is a big summer for our club. Strong leaders like Cal Davidson will be essential to our success next season. The Dunblane boy is not only a super player, he is central to our youth development. The U20s give more for him than they do for the others. He is easy to respect, thanks to enormous amounts of experience, professionalism and skill.

Looking at our form following the split it’s very easy to see what went wrong. Marbella was a disaster. My great friend, @HannahElizabeth, was the first to raise the issue. Steve Lomas will learn from that mistake. He is a very new manager and is not perfect.

The game against Dundee United was pivotal. Put simply, if we had won that game we’d have qualified for Europe on merit. We started well and were undone by some cruel fortune. Sandaza lost the plot, Lomas responded by readying Haber to replace him. Incredibly, the player got sent off after an unpleasant altercation with Sean Dillon. There was fault on both sides but the end result was that we were denied the services of our best striker for three critical games.

We started well against both Motherwell and Celtic; comfortably being the better team. On both occasions we let our collective heads drop, following the loss of goals which were dubious at best. With your best striker out, and with little to genuinely play for, that is perfectly understandable especially with big players (Midge, Morris, Sheridan et al) realising their futures lay elsewhere.

In the final game against a strong Rangers side we played some of the best football since the days of Sturrock/Clark. We dominated the opening spell, were undone by a beautiful goal and lost a second chasing an equaliser. It went all wrong after that. It was cruel beyond words.

The players and management were rounded on for not coming over to applaud the fans following that defeat. Put yourself in their boots, our players were gutted and simply wanted the ground to swallow them up. I can understand that.

There is more than enough evidence to suggest this club will remain in the SPL for several years to come. The club are trialling new initiatives and Paul Smith should be given huge credit for his role in making the Tay Play days a vibrant success. Yes, they run at a loss – but they may well have a long term benefit which could prove to be immeasurable.

Our groundsman, Chris Smith, is working miracles on a tight budget. If any Saints philanthropist is reading this, they might want to consider donating £2500 to him in order to allow him to purchase some additional equipment which he feels would bring great benefit to the club.

The general maintenance standards of the stadium are good, but on-going costs will only rise for as long as we remain based at PH1 2SJ. A new stadium must have good transport links. Unforeseen costs, which could cripple another club, will generally go unnoticed at Saints thanks to Geoff’s prudence. We have contingencies for rainy days.

We have great staff. All areas of McDiarmid are full of enthusiastic, professional folks from a wide range of demographics. The ticket office girls are a constant pleasure to deal with and front desk work hard to make visitors and guests feel welcome. The Muirton Suite is inviting and wee Stuart can be seen doing the rounds pre-match. Paul Smith should be honoured in due course for his service which goes above and beyond the job requirement at all times.

Our board are ready, willing and excited for the challenges to come. Geoff’s shoes are large ones to step into and mistakes will occur at all levels – that is normal in any business. I trust our leaders, I love this club. I urge you all, please dig deep, please buy a season ticket and please be true supporter of this great and proud club.

Please don’t run the club into the ground. Promote the club, promote our games, enthuse others through general conversation. We have all enjoyed great times as Saints fans. Let’s make sure that younger generations get that same thrill as we did when Kano scored against the Dee or when the final whistle blew and we won at Parkhead.

This is a golden era in our history. We are stable and solid in the SPL. New and exciting players will arrive to make our team strong. We’ll compete against the best and we’ll beat them on our day. Those days are priceless memories.

Stand strong in support of Saints. Renew or buy a season ticket. Please.

February Round Up at McDiarmid

Long Time no Blog

Regular readers will have noticed the lack of blogs over recent games. Aberdeen, Dunfermline and Killie have all went unblogged for various reasons. With the first team having a free weekend, now is good time for a round-up of all the good things happening under Steve Lomas and Tommy Wright.

Firstly, Alan Mannus is getting the chance to stake a claim for the starting jersey next season. The Northern Ireland keeper had played second fiddle to Enckleman for most of the year, eventually securing a start in the Scottish Cup replay against Hearts at McDiarmid. He saw a penalty fly past him in that game, but he saved one at Rugby Park.

There is little secret that Lomas is hunting for a new goalkeeper and Enckeman’s departure is surely now no more than a formality. Equally, there is little evidence to suggest that Mannus is doing enough to secure the jersey. Enckleman, Callum Davidson and Jody Morris are big earners at our club and all three seem set to depart in the summer leaving reasonable sums of money for Mr Lomas to work with.

Helping his cause is the form of our on-loan gems. Cads, May and Clark have all starred for the loan teams whilst Vinnie is getting stuck in at Borough Briggs too. If we can retain youngsters at half cost, whilst getting them games at a decent level, we’ll have better players and more opportunities to loan those hitting 19 years of age.

I expect that Enckleman’s salary will go straight to our new goalie and I also expect that Zander will remain on board for another year, assuming he can secure a season long loan. By the end of next season, if he hasn’t proven good enough to be our back-up; he’ll probably be away.

At right back, Dave Mackay looks more and more comfortable each week. He certainly plays better football when he’s paired with Midgie Millar, but Lee Croft’s gradual improvement, in form if not fitness, is allowing Cup Tie to flourish and Lomas must be delighted to have him on board for next season.

The three central defenders all have contracts for next season too so that only leaves Maybs and Davidson with decisions to make. Maybury will surely be offered terms, Lomas has often highlighted the great versatility of the former Hearts player. Of course the fullback may well look elsewhere for regular starts but I suspect that security of income will keep him at McDiarmid for one more year.

Callum Davidson is a more confusing one. Involved in some training of the young boys and a hugely calming influence on the pitch; Cal is far from being the player he once was for us. He is drawing a large salary and is arguably struggling to justify his rate. Liam Craig can play the full back role and Davidson certainly hasn’t got his best years in front of him. That said, we all remember the struggles of the first division when Liam was our regular full back and there’s no doubt that Liam behind Compton would leave us exposed down that side of the pitch. For my money, I’d keep Callum on the same terms; he’s a great example of professionalism, style and attitude. The young lads look up to him and that speaks volumes; a leader on and off the pitch.

In midfield, Chris Millar has been sitting on a revised offer for some time now. I still think that the Take That wannabe will sign on for another couple of years but he won’t do so without some assurances. It seems  clear that he’s not exactly a Lomas player but that doesn’t mean there’s no future for him. He’s beaten off the rivalry of several wide men over the last few years and he’s significantly better than Lee Croft at the present moment. That leads to two questions; how long before Croft gets bored and how long until he gets fit? Undoubtedly a fit and enthusiastic Lee Croft is an asset to St Johnstone, but I’m not convinced we’ll ever see that realised. Compare Croft to Compton and you’ll the see the difference between night and day in terms of hunger and desire.

If Midgie doesn’t sign; neither McIntosh nor Gray are ready to step up. Arguably Stevie May could play wide right, but only in an attacking sense. He’d be a hard act to replace; I hope we secure a deal shortly.

In central midfield, Jamie Adams remains on the sidelines whilst Kevin Moon must be considering buying houses in Leicester. There are various stories surrounding his latest absence, all that matters is that he should be fit for Paisley. Moon is a player who can transform our team and we need him available and fit. Thankfully, Moon is under lock and key for next year. Jamie may well have to prove himself in pre-season.

Muzz and Morris will continue to form the basis of our midfield for the remainder of the season. I expect that Morris will be away in May and that will be a mixed blessing for the club. He’s undoubtedly a super wee player but....

Murray Davidson is becoming a bit of a target from sections of the support. They praised him and raised him into something he wasn’t in his debut season and now that he’s falling short of their delusions, they are castigating him for failure! The lad has never been that good and he is bumbling through the season in customary form. He always gives 100% and is a true crowd pleaser in terms of his tackles; but he’s not a great player. It’s not through coincidence that clubs have stopped scouting him. We should have pushed him harder when we had the chance.

David Robertson remains a Saints player.

Liam Craig is one of several players who’ve blossomed under Steve Lomas. The left footed midfielder has turned in some excellent performances for the new gaffer including a brief spell as an attacking central midfielder at Fir Park. He was Derek McInnes’ first signing and he may well prove to be his longest lasting signing. He is contracted into next year and must be a player we’re hoping to tie down for a few years to come. Jack Compton is his direct rival and I sincerely hope to see the two of them play bit parts in games. Compton looks a magical wee star and will hurt teams with thirty minutes to go. Whether or not he’ll deserve a regular start remains to be seen, but he looks very good so far.

Up top and it’s all a bit of a revelation. Haber is the only one of the front men who looks likely to be offered revised terms. Sheridan’s wage is eye-watering and the deal simply cannot suit his parent club. I fully expect him to extricate himself from the Bulgarians and to get even half of his salary he’ll have to move down South, possibly with Jody.

Sandaza was always gonna use Saints as a stepping stone to greater things so it’ll be no surprise to see him bid farewell. He fully recognises the importance of getting amongst the goals between now and the season’s end. He’s been snatching at things in recent weeks but he’ll lose that with his next goal. He remains a class act. He will score again. He will score soon.

Haber is working harder for Lomas than ever he did for McInnes. He is almost perfect in one v ones and has a might shot when he gets room for a strike. He’s good in the air and has sufficient strength for this league. What he lacks is that final bit of grit and arguably he needs to make more intelligent runs. Under Lomas’ tutelage he could easily be our number striker next season.

Finners is effectively released and there is little doubt that Mr Higgins is being encouraged to find a new club. Lomas needs, and deserves, players who are fully committed to St Johnstone. Stevie Amy seems likely to play a part in next season’s SPL campaign, interesting that Haber has many similar traits to Stevie Reynolds....

So watch out for an expensive keeper, two strikers (one proven and one gamble) and a central midfielder who can also play right midfield. I don’t expect Cads to play SPL next season, Gayfield could remain his loan club.

In terms of the under 19s, Gray and Kane are the two most likely to break through. That said, the 11 players on show today were excellent and that was without Gareth and Kano. A brief match report can be found at http://banned101saint.blogspot.com/2012/03/saints-v-hearts-u19-spl.html

 

Other issues surrounding the club include the financial incompetence of our rivals. Rangers and Dunfermline are the latest clubs to hit financial troubles. Both clubs, like Hearts and Dundee United can trace their troubles to arrogant leaders, who couldn’t count beans. Scottish football is in a dire condition. The game is a patient relying on the life support of SKY/ESPN money. When it goes, our game will die a slow and undignified death.

We need the SFA to wise up and take control of our whole game. The SPL was a joke started by greed and driven by the bigot brothers. It needs to be scrapped as it serves no function. The cash handouts are wrong, but not by much. Sport is a meritocracy and it’s only correct that the winners get more than the losers. What’s wrong is the percentage split. It needs to be in some semblance of balance or the rich will walk away from everyone else.

Club chairmen, not ours thankfully, are generally too stupid to recognise that they need to increase income and reduce expenditure so the ruling body needs to motivate them to run fiscally sound businesses. The quality of our game cannot sink much further so we should be bold and radical in our approach. We should consider enforcing a single bank account rule for day-to-day transactions. The implantation of a points’ deduction if clubs are in a debt position; one point deducted per £10,000 of debt. We should shun TV unless it’s on our own terms. Loyalty has been scrapped away from clubs as more and more fans sit in their homes and pontificate online. The next generation will be greatly depleted unless we bring them back into our stadia.

We should stop paying attention to our European co-efficient. Most fans, including this writer, don’t understand the word and it really is futile in deed. Most Scottish clubs who qualify for Europe do not gain in any material fashion. Many real fans cannot afford the trips, the clubs incur expensive costs and bureaucratic difficulties. And for what? Defeat to an unheard of team, super!

We can’t cap players salaries but we can do almost the same thing by capping the gate price. If clubs can’t get into debt, have no TV money and rely on gate receipts and we reduce those gate receipts there are few other ways to pay their players. If the leagues in Scotland all charged £5 per game, we’d see crowds and clubs transformed.

Of course stadia would need developed and ticket money alone would not meet that cost. Ground sharing would become the norm and that would require artificial pitches. That has benefits for the club. A source of midweek revenue for one; a groundman’s wage saved for another. Clubs need to become businesses. They need to create money from stadia and they need to invest that money wisely in the hope that they can attract new customers to the club; both commercially and through football.

If Rangers, Hearts, United, Killie and Dunfermline all close their doors; I’d care not a jot. History would be lost, but lessons would be learned. TV could not replace punters, fans remain the lifeblood of football clubs and fans must be encouraged to return whether through financial catalysts or sheer and brutal loyalty.

I love St Johnstone as do many others. We should be thankful for the Browns and mindful of the Murrays and Milesons.

Saints v Hearts u19 SPL

Saints Under 19s earned an impressive victory at a chilly and blustery Striling Univeristy on Satutrday.

Alec Cleland's boys had beaten the league leaders in the away fixture back in October last year, so headed into the game knowing that the opposition were beatable. Long-term injury victim, Chris Kane, has stepped up his rehabilitation recently and is currently able to do some running but the game came too soon for him; also missing out was regular centre half, Gareth Rodger, who is currently troubled with a knee injury. Gareth turned up to offer words of encouragement from the sidelines wearing a rather intersting pair of pink trousers....

Alastair Worby continued in goal with a defence of Greg Mitchell, Chris Moffat(C), Ally Gilchrist and Aiden Hendry. In midfield, Scotty Gray and Andrew Steeves flanked Keiran Stewart and Ricky McIntosh whilst up top it the cosmopolitan pairing of Ryan Hutchinson and Callum McConnell.

The game got off to the a bright and competitive start with 8 corners in the first half and a booking apiece. Both cards being displayed following cyncial tackles around the half way line, preventing a quick counter. It was Saints who opened the scoring first; a corner from Scotty Gray caused all sorts of problems and Ryan Hutchison wheeled away in celebration. The official site credits the goal to Callum McConnell. Either way the shot wrong footed the visiting goalkeeper and rolled into the net.

You can imagine that Alec was delighted at half time as he gave the lads their pep-talk and stressed the importance of hard work; pressing and communication. He would have been much less impressed by the sight of goalkeeper Alastair Worby falling to the ground having taken a sore knock of his right kidney. The keeper got up and played on but he was in obvious discomfort when kicking from hand.

Hearts were attacking hard but Saints remained resolute throughout. Local lad Andrew Steeves, who rushed a decent chance in the first half, was providing a great out ball for Aiden Hendry down the left, whilst the tenacious Greg Mitchell linked well with both Gray and Hutchison down the right hand side. Indeed a long, overhit pass for Scotty Gray seemed to be heading out the park until the wee winger dived in and clipped a magnificent ball into the box. The ball fell nicely for Cal McConnell who finished with some aplomb. At 2-0 with 25 minutes left to play you wouldn't want to be in Alec Cleland's position. It was a lead we deserved but Hearts were clearly going all out attack and a flurry of subs from the Tynescastle based team gave a clear indication that the game wasn't yet over.

Thankfully for Saints the defence and keeper were the match for each Hearts attack. Indeed we looked ever more threatening on the counter attack and it was during a counter attack that one of our players was fouled in the centre of the park. As he tried to get up he was clearly hauled back and the referee quite rightly flashed a second yellow and with it Hearts hopes were dashed. If they thought that was bad much worse came from the freekick. Keeper Worby found Aiden Hendry wide left, he clipped in a great ball for Callum McConnell and Scotty Gray nipped in at the back post to grab a strikers goal that former U19 striker Stevie May would have approved of.

The Saints players unwound slightly and paid the price. Hearts pulled a goal back with two minutes of regulation time left. A scramble at 20 yards was never fully cleared and eventually a speculative shot whistled high into Worby's right hand corner. The keeper perhaps would have saved it, but he was undoubtedly unsighted by the number of bodies in front of him.

The referee, who was letter of the law all day long, played the full amount of injury time, but Saints enjoyed the best of what remained. As the whistle blew, Callum had been replaced by tricky wide man Thomson and all the players surrounded youth coach Alec Cleland to celebrate a significant and throughly deserved win.

With Liam Caddis, Mark Durnan, Stevie May and Zander Clark have made great strides over the season, our current U19s can look forward to being afforded plenty opportunity under Alec, Steve Lomas and Tommy Wright. The weekend win should give them all the confidence that they can go on and make a career in the game. Our hope is that one or two will blossom into replacements for first team stars like Sandaza, Morris, Croft or pehaps a current left back from Stirlingshire....

Saints U19 next play at noon on Friday 16 March when they face third place Hibernian, again at Stirling.

Hearts Cup Replay

Heart Sick

The Scottish Cup replay took place in front of a vocal band of hardcore supporters. The overhead conditions were good and the pitch, despite looking horrendous, played reasonably well. Callum Davidson missed out with a hamstring injury and Dave Mackay missed out because Craig Thomson is a wankstain on Scottish football. Lee Croft was dropped to the bench because he husnae been very good at Saints.

With Alan Mannus Saints first choice goalkeeper until next season, it was an unusual back five with a the defence lining up as Anderson-McCracken-Wright-Maybury, midfield saw, Millar-Morris-M Davidson-Craig and up top came Fran and Cillian.

The game was a horrendous pile of dross until Murray Davidson amazingly found the target with just a few minutes remaining. Until then, there had been feck all in the way of entertainment which the exception of the Saints Neanderthals bellowing at Danny Grainger. Some of our fans are quite incredible pieces of DNA.

Brian Winter, or Winters as Saints fans probably know him, was the referee and it is a sad reflection of our game that he is easily our best referee. The top flight official made quite a faux pas when he tried to book Murray Davidson for a foul committed by Cillian Sheridan but other than that he had an admirable game. I’m not castigating him for the penalty because, despite watching numerous replays, I cannot be 100% that it wasn’t a penalty.

Other than that, there’s nothing to say about the game. It was an even affair, though with better finishing we’d have won it in the first period of extra time. The loss of revenue is a massive blow to Lomas plans for next season, he’s already missed out on 2 goalkeeping targets and the third is now less likely to come to fruition with the budget under threat.

The good news is that Stevie May has signed a new deal so we have at least one good striker on the books and certain to remain with us. That said, he couldn’t score past Zander today... Chris Millar has been offered new terms, but I can’t imagine he’s in any rush to sign. Its little secret that clubs are coming up to watch Midgie despite the little man being well off-form. I guess that if he keeps Lee Croft out the team, he’ll have thoroughly deserved his new contract.

Jack Compton’s ankle tear is likely to keep him out until 17 March and that doesn’t give him much time to win a new deal. I have every confidence in his skill and hopefully Lomas does too. The tricky little foreigner could well be the find of the year.

Another injured star is Steven Anderson and his loss will make some of the Delophiles realise how important the centre half is. We have to hope that he’s only out for a few weeks because without him, top six will be a tough ask. Speaking of Del, despite my dislike of the man’s techniques and player treatment, all Saints fans must hope beyond hope that he keeps his job until the summer, Saints stand to make a tidy profit from Bristol and Del being a couple come June... August would be a great time for him to get sacked.

So we journey to Aberdeen tomorrow for a match against the in-form Dons. Craig Brown is clearly relishing the game, especially as it looks like Moon could be out for a long time and Adams is still on the sidelines. The Dons have a strong centre midfield and they’ll try hard to make that count against us. The game isn’t of massive importance in terms of points, we remain on a par with Hearts and the top six is still perfectly feasible is we lose.

What’s important is to break the losing streak. We haven’t played poorly, indeed we’ve played very well in our last four games, but both winning and losing are habits; we want to break this losing habit. It should be a good game, I’m looking forward to it, but I’d take a point right now.

Two wins this month will almost clinch the top six; win the next three games and Lomas will have achieved the target. It’s been a wonderful season; I don’t want it to end. We’ll reflect on this season for years to come. Pivotal in so many ways. Make sure you pick up a copy of the current Saints magazine, it’s gonna be something to treasure when we’re looking back. The enormity of getting rid of McInnes (and for serious dough) the brilliance of Geoff in appointing Lomas, the generosity of the man in allowing the club’s management to be passed to his son, the emergence of Steven Anderson as a leader and a player worthy of international recognition.

Enjoy Aberdeen, savour the season, support the Saints.

United at Home 11022012

A bad day at the Office

If ever we needed proof that being a football manager is a perilous business, Saturday provided it in spades. Steve Lomas and Tommy Wright got everything spot on in terms of preparation; shape, selection and tactics were absolutely fine. We dominated the first half, prompting the wee rat that is Peter Houston to call his team “rubbish”. Incredibly, we left the park having suffered, and yes it was hurtful, a five one reversal at the hands of our nearest rivals. Here are some thoughts on the game and the possible repercussions.

Before we look at any aspect of the game, it is important to clarify some issues. I launched into a very public tirade against our former goalkeeper, Graeme Smith, at Falkirk’s Westfield Stadium. It followed a run of games where he gave away three points. The circumstances were completely different from what we currently experience.

Firstly, Smithy never played well for St Johnstone in all the time he was here. He was signed by Derek McInnes who stupidly and lazily signed him as cover for an aging club hero. McInnes should have been looking for a replacement for Alan Main, not a back-up. Secondly, he tried to justify many of his mistakes, often seeking to blame his defence – a spineless man, really. Thirdly, my outburst was not only directed at him, but also at our hopeless manager who refused to pick Alan Main due to a clash of personalities. Those childish days, which so nearly cost us Steven Anderson, are now long gone; Steve and Tommy will select teams based on professionalism alone.

When discussing our goalkeeping targets for next season, a small discussion about Mannus came to fruition. I noted that Enckleman performs better than Mannus in training, but pointed out that being good technically means nothing. Euan McLean was a great goalkeeper in training but he wilted under the spotlight.

All football players are like plants; some grow and flourish under the stage lights, others simply wither and die. Enckleman is an enigma, he has had good games; Parkhead, Ibrox and our first visit to Tynecastle spring to mind. He’s also had horror shows; Aberdeen twice, Motherwell home and yesterday. The trouble is that the last line of defence can’t be of variable quality. It’s an obvious fact that keepers will tend to play well against big teams as they have more saves to make. I’m certain that Mannus has the gloves for the next few games; both he and Lomas have my full support. Nevertheless, Enckleman has been far than I expected; “thanks, Pete!”

The guys in front of him played well as a group, though Callum Davidson will want to forget his part in the second goal. A ball was played across the goal mouth and Davidson simply run it into his own net. Regular readers will know that one of the reasons I don’t rate Enckleman is his inability to communicate with his defensive colleagues. This looked like yet another debacle of silence.

Nevertheless, Callum needs to have the presence of mind to look right when he’s lost the race to the front post. It was a shocking goal to lose and the brilliance of the goalmouth cross should not excuse poor defending. Having said that, we should note that Callum was brilliant for the rest of the game and I can only think of Rangers second (first home game of the season) where Callum has been clearly at fault for costing Saints a goal; that’s a mark of his vast contribution to this great club.

He’s coaching the young lads with regularity and the boys respond well to him. He is a calming influence both on the pitch and in the dressing room. Like Gavin Rae at Aberdeen, he’s a top influence on the players around him. I was disappointed that both he and Mackay failed to rally the boys, but given that the third, fourth and fifth goals came so late in the day, we hadn’t a chance. With hindsight, I guess it was harsh to expect any player to try and urge the boys onwards. In summary, Neilson created very little.

Anderson and McCracken were once again rocks in the heart of the defence and they must have needed chauffeur driven home after that game, they’re heads would have been shaking in disbelief all night. They worked so very well together and on their own to keep some of the league’s best frontmen quiet.

Gary Mackay-Stevens is a great player who we missed out on. He’s got most of the attributes needed to play at the top level, including a ned like appearance and a Jedward-esque sense of fashion.

Jon Daly is the unsung hero of the SPL and a man we should make moves to bring to Perth. A true captain; brave, versatile, committed and low key – we would do well to ensure he leads our line next season... A three year deal could sign and seal the transfer. His goal was only the third time this season he’s beaten Anderson in the air.

Johnny Russell is a pocketful of tricks. His goal was lucky, but he won his header and sent the ball in the right direction. His pace and strength are hard to combat yet we kept him quiet for most of the game.

The fact that those guys were kept at bay for most of the afternoon speaks volumes for our defence

Mackay, who will serve his first ever suspension on Tuesday night against Hearts, also had a strong game but also had a mix-up with Enckleman. That our two most dependable players had situations with our goalkeeper is perhaps the answer to the riddle. I expect that both goals could have been prevented with better communication. Mannus will surely offer that when he comes in to the starting line-up.

He was again lacking in defensive support from a guy that I’ve nailed recently, including in the heated aftermath of the game on Saturday, Lee Croft. He played much better on Saturday, certainly in terms of going forward, but still left Mackay with too much to do. Dundee United are always strong down the left; remember this is a club that managed to select a team without Danny Grainger whilst we played Liam at left back and a club that manages to keep Barry Douglas on the subs bench.

Folk keep boring me with stories about Dixon’s pinpoint crosses. The truth is that a full back should not be allowed to rampage forward in such a fashion.  If Midgie had been on the the right wing, we’d have controlled that area in a much better fashion. We’d also not have to witness Lee Croft’s dive. The man looked a far more determined player against The Arabs and certainly created more than in his previous outings, but the dive not only tarnished our reputation, it also affected Brines judgement when Liam Craig was illegally impeded in the box.

It says much of Scottish referee standards that Brines didn’t stand out as being particularly hopeless. Indeed, credit where it’s due, he was utterly clear and decisive in booking Crofty who’s now been booked in 75% of his appearances. If Compton and Mooner were fit, I’d play a midfield of Midge-Moon-Craig-Compton against Hearts. Unfortunately, neither player will make it and Jamie Adams remains sidelined. It leaves Lomas with little in the way of options to change things. That made his official comments very smart indeed. Players are now fighting for their place in the Lomas revolution. Competition breeds improvement.

Speaking of which, Jody Morris put in one of his worst performances for Saints. Midgie was always gonna play deep yet it appeared that Jody didn’t change his game accordingly. They both sat deep and sprayed balls wide, this left a gap for Dundee United to exploit albeit Fran and Cillie took turns at dropping deep and making good runs. If we use the same midfield pairing on Tuesday, we need to ensure that Jody moves further forward by at least 10 yards. He also needs to pass the ball better. Not that underfoot conditions are helping matters.

The surface at McDiarmid is no worse than many SPL pitches in use this season but it’s undoubtedly in poor condition. I simply can’t agree with club officials when they say that the grass isn’t cut too short. It’s no coincidence that the pitches used in the SPL can be directly linked to expenditure. It’s time to bring back Jimmy Hogg and a protégé. DC need not apply...

Aside from losing out to Johnny Russell and being fouled in the box, Liam Craig had a quiet game. Always liable to score, the wide man was involved in plenty of the play but most of it in the middle third of the pitch. He remains a great player and is still the only player at the club with worse hair than Dolly! He’ll be involved against Hearts and will need to work hard to deliver telling crosses.

Up top saw Sheridan and Sandaza re-united in the starting eleven. Sheridan, so brilliant at Tynecastle was once again a shadow of that player. It’s inexplicable to me how he can be so much slower when running and so weak in the tackle. The man confuses the tits off me. He is infuriating to watch and Lomas must be baffled by having guys like him and Haber in the dressing room. So much talent, so many prospects and yet so little focus. Lomas described the capture of Sheridan as the result of fighting “tooth and nail” with Steve Brown, Sheridan would do well to repay the faith shown by both manager and chairman. At least he’s guaranteed his wage from Saints... Realistically, Haber could be the only first team striker to continue into next year, he’s much work to do if he wants to earn that accolade.

Fran Sandaza had another good game, making frequent strong runs as he exploited gaps between midfield and defence. His miss was a very tricky shot and I applaud him for taking it on, rather than trying to offload the ball under pressure. He’s done very well for us and I expect him to score for us on Tuesday against Hearts.

I mentioned this run of games as being the biggest week of our season and boy how it has turned out that way. As a group of fans we failed our team on Saturday and I’m glad we only have two league games left at home before the split. I hope we have two cup games at home too...

Steve Lomas has earned our trust. He has signed good players, he is looking at players that will excite the fans and he has done well to persuade Fran to remain a Saintee.  He is angry about Saturday and has spent the last two days working hard to ensure our cup progression. We have a great manager, a super board, excellent commercial folks and wonderful background troops. The only weak link in our great club is our Tannoyman who again wittered on during a match. Compare that to the professionalism of Hearts announcer and you’ll see my problem with our incumbent. If he’s our only failure, we’re doing very well.

This is a squad of players I believe in. This is a manager I trust. This is a club I love. We break Hearts on St Valentine’s day. The prices are steep, but the victory moment will be priceless. Let’s continue to dig deep for as long as the dream remains. We’re on course for the Scottish Cup semi final if we take care of Hearts and the top six is looking ever more like becoming a reality. This has been a momentous season and  there are more great memories to be created. Miss a game at your peril.

A Learning Curve for Lomas

Having dominated Motherwell using a 4-4-1-1 formation, Steve Lomas tried the same stunt against Hearts and almost came a cropper. The tactic wasn’t necessarily wrong, but trusting David Robertson was. Lee Croft had a much better game but still let us (specifically Cup Tie Mackay) down. We looked in bother at half time but Lomas is a man of conviction, passion and integrity; he transformed the game with a great subbie and we were unlucky to be held to a replay. Here are my thoughts on the day out.

With Elliot, Templeton and Skacel in the starting eleven, Hearts were always going to prove a real handful to contain. I can certainly understand the temptation to go defensive but we are a team that works best when we attack. We should play to our strengths; playing high up, moving the ball smartly yet simply whilst defending with courage, vigour and experience. Fran had no support from Robertson and neither did the midfield gain from his inclusion. Quite what he brings to the team is beyond me. I do understand why Lomas likes him; he has a great touch, fantastic awareness and, for a lightweight, he gets involved in some meaty tackles. Sadly there is much more to being a good footballer.

Something is badly missing from Robbo’s game. I can’t put my finger on it. I’ve previously referred to him as enigmatic. I suspect he’s maybe not bright enough to understand his role; perhaps lacking the discipline required to play a certain position. Whatever his problem, he is no good in games and he costs us dear. I very much doubt that he’s ever played in winning 45 minutes for Saints. It’s time to pull the plug on his time at Saints. He’s let Lomas down too often.

I slated Croft for his performances against Hibs and Motherwell; he was a bit better against Hearts. Nevertheless, he still doesn’t offer us enough and I can only imagine the frustration that Midgie is feeling. The wee weegie has been an exquisite acquisition and was very close to agreeing terms with us on two year deal; that’s gotta be in the balance whilst a lesser player keeps him on the sidelines.

That said Croft created a few chances with some lovely weighted balls, he is s excellent at putting the right amount of speed on a ball. He also spots runs and runners with great skill. However, as in previous games, he wasted a good chance in front of goal and his hunger for the game seems to have been left in Derby. Lomas spoke well on the BBC about how players like Sheridan need to work every single day, without ceasing, to make it to the top of their game. There is no better example of a player slipping down the ladder than Lee Croft. His skill is far beyond our league, yet he seems to be unwanted by better clubs and that must be because of his attitude. I sincerely Lomas can work on him, I have my doubts though.

It was down Croft’s side that Hearts made their goal. The fullback was given the freedom of Gorgie and had time to play a strong pass to Mr Templeton. The winger ran at Cup Tie and turned him well, hit a shot which Enckleman saw very late and ran off to celebrate an easy goal. The goal was slightly lucky in the sense that we all thought Mackay had done enough to force him round the outside, then when he came inside, you’d expect McCracken to help out, but the ball appeared to sneak under his boot and if anything his presence only impaired Enckleman’s line of sight. As at Fir Park, it was a real sickener and we didn’t really recover from it despite Anderson and Morris doing a great job of rallying the troops.

Enckleman had a fine afternoon, plucking crosses and communicating far better with his defence. His kicking was generally of a high standard despite being asked to kick to Craig rather than Mackay. I don’t think was anything to do with Hearts full-backs, rather Crofty can’t be trusted to cover for Cup Tie. Liam did okay, but ultimately he’s not as good at heading as Dave Mackay and we were weaker as a result.

Perhaps a testament to the way Saint played in the second period is that Enckleman only had one real stop to make. I’m pretty sure Jamie MacDonald wished he was playing for us in the second half; he might have similar thoughts on payday.

Of course for a goalkeeper to have such a quiet afternoon, the back four have to play well and they all did just that. Anderson and McCracken are a super pairing and I’m delighted that Lomas has resisted the temptation to recall the blunder that can be Frazer Wright. The former Killie man was exceptional against Celtic and has played reasonably well at other venues, but as a rule he drops three or four clangers in every game. McCracken has brought great composure to the team and it’s clear that he and Anderson hit it off. When Wright and Ando play there’s always a niggle, always an argument; there’s almost a telepathic silence when Cracks and Ando are paired up.

What’s beyond doubt is that if Ando moves to the championship, not Bristol City for obvious reasons, he’ll immediately be in the Scotland squad. He’s better than anything we have at the moment and it’s a real hurt that he’s not been included to date. Maybe he’ll be involved in Wales; maybe we need a real manager in charge of the Scottish national team.

The fullbacks both played well too. Callum played the captain sensible role, rarely bursting forward, but using very well weighted passes to open up the Hearts right side. He and Ando are generally on the same wavelength and he’s always a safe pair of feet when a tight ball needs to be played. He’s clever enough to know that where a ball is too risky to be played, there are large areas of structures in which to play the ball. These areas are often referred to as the stands.

It was into such an area that Dave Mackay planted a ball at the end of the first half. Whether any of the officials noticed, I can’t be sure; what I can be sure of is that Dave Mackay was red-carded without just cause. The first booking was allegedly for dissent. Hard to be a silent dissenter, eh Craig? The second booking was for clearing a ball despite a Hearts player trying to cheat by using his wrist to move the ball away from Mackay. I don’t the laws of the game particularly well, but I’m struggling to know which of them Dave broke when trying to clear the ball. Still, McInnes tells us that Thompson is a good referee and always explains himself, that’s fine then. Must just be me that thinks he’s an incompetent dickhead. I’ve certainly no proof of any St Johnstone staff implying that Thompson is hopeless...

Let’s make no bones about the fact that Scottish football is in a terrible state. Our players aren’t doing well abroad, our clubs are almost all out of financial control, our facilities are tragic – so much so that Steve Lomas can’t find anywhere for us to train – and our referees are worse than those in Malta and Israel. To paraphrase Renton, “It’s an unpleasant state of affairs”

Another man that didn’t last the 90 was Murray Davidson. The tenacious midfielder has had a season of variegated performances but his commitment was inspiring on Sunday. Every time he skelped Ian Black, my face smiled and my heart winked with impudent pleasure. He’s struggling to make the replay now, but hopefully that means the Moon will come out to play.

The other midfield battler was Liam Craig and he did well enough. Unusually, he wasn’t particularly threatening, though Callum’s conservative approach probably didn’t offer much encouragement. He gave us maximum effort and commitment; he also got stuck in when dirty tackles needed to be made. He’s a top bloke and a top player. Compton’s inclusion should not mean Liam misses out. That said, we have an abundance of skill in midfield at the moment.

The same can be said of our striking options. I was very critical of Lomas’ substitution at half time. Firstly, I am yet to be convinced that Cillian Sheridan wants to be a good footballer. Some of his play is quite horrendous and the effort he puts is more varied that his pal’s Tweets. On top of that, Croft deserved a chance to prove him and the team badly missed Chrissy Millar. I make no apology for saying that Lomas got the sub wrong and, if truth be told, I still think he got it wrong. Nevertheless, it’s fractional decision and ultimately he got a replay by winning the second half. I couldn’t ask for any more from him.

What’s more is that Cillian Sheridan put in a truly great shift. He still had a few “feck me” moments, but mostly he was good. Far beyond that, he actually worked hard and almost gave the impression of a man that has suddenly realised the Celtic dream is over. I suspect that Lomas, far more than Del, has made him realise how lucky he is to remain at St Johnstone. We may dream of playing football abroad, but Sheridan is desperate to secure his release from Sofia; the club, not a burd.

If he plays like he can, week in and week out, he’ll make a decent career in the game. If he plays as he did against Rangers at McDiarmid, he’ll struggle to get a game in the SFL1. Lomas was cautious not to praise him in his BBC interview, concentrating instead on the need for him to work hard and continue to work hard. The recent performances of Marcus Haber have undoubtedly put Cillian on the back foot, like a courageous boxer on the ropes, the fashion icon of Holy Trinity Brompton came out fighting.

Both Sheridan and Sandaza had wonderful performances, albeit both missed gilt-edged chances. It’s beyond comical that some of the Saints fans thought Fran was poor. One such observer chastised Fran for being below par then admitted he didn’t know Fran played that pass for Cillian. There is no hope, it’s really depressing.

I thought we saw arguably saw Fran at his best against the Watery Farts. He hasn’t really shone against good defenders but he worked wonders the Hearts rear-guard and I am delighted, though not surprised that he has remained a Saints player.

For what it’s worth, I don’t expect us to win the replay. We’ve got three huge games in 8 days. Two league wins will probably clinch the top six position we so richly deserve and I’d gladly accept the maximum league points and forego the cup. Although all three games are winnable, I just feel that we might have a blip. Indeed losing to Hearts might just ensure that any arrogance is kept in check and focus every player on the task in hand.

I have no doubt that Lomas made mistakes, but more importantly I am convinced that he remains the best manager in the SPL. His ability to openly admit his mistakes is refreshing and it will please the players no end. A far cry from our last cup game against St Mirren, also destroyed by a referee, Craig Thompson I believe.

Let’s dig deep, stand strong and support our Hearts Heroes. Together, we will march with pride and will conquer the psychological barrier of the top six.

Shoulda Been Millar Time

Tactical errors from Steve Lomas cost Saints dear at Fir Park as Motherwell edged our St Johnstone on a tricky pitch. Wells goals came courtesy of Henrik Ojamaa with a brace and Lasley with a fluke. Saints counters came from transfer tittle tattle men, Jody Morris and Fran Sandaza. Those who follow banned101saint on Twitter will know my thoughts on these players.

Saints went into the game with a massive doubt over Liam Craig, struggling all week with vomiting and diarrhoea. The goal scoring midfielder lost half a stone in weight yet still managed most of the game, half of which he played in an attacking midfield role. Jack Compton replaced him and won over the majority of the fans at the game. Quite why they rated Croft higher than Compton after the Hibs game is beyond my comprehension.

Arguably, the inclusion of Croft cost us the game. The man is lazy, unfit and indifferent to the cause of St Johnstone. It takes more than a nice touch to succeed in the game. There are a few reasons why clubs in England don’t want him. He reminds me of Collin Samuel, he’s now at Arbroath. These players just stumble through life expecting to make a living from talent alone. Very few can pull that trick off; Croft might be one of them, though it doesn’t look promising. Gotta say though, the boy has a very high level of natural talent.

The gulf in attitude between players like Croft and Samuel, compared with such as Midge and Compton is unfathomable. Midge himself was visibly angered at not getting any game time. Different sources have told me that he was told to expect 30 minutes and his warm up suggested as much. Of course the third goal changed the shape of the game considerably and the timing could not have been worse. That the goal was a fluke, a cruel deflection, only added to the sense of injustice.

Putting all that aside, it’s a measure of Steve Lomas that we went into the game, believing we’d take the fight to Stuart McCall’s men. The crushing disappointment felt when Calum Murray blew for full time showed how far we’ve come since November.

The game started in fine conditions, albeit parts of the pitch offered less grip than others. The opening exchanges were fairly evenly matched. The key talking point being that Omar Daley seemed to have less grip than any other player. How else to explain him falling down so easily and so often? Actually don’t answer that, Ando did it for you!

After ten minutes or so, the game settled down and Motherwell were enjoying the bulk of the play. They hadn’t looked overly threatening when in the twenty second minute we failed to clear our lines. The ball broke to Callum Davidson who spotted Lee Croft in acres of space. The experienced left back tried to find the fans favourite with a diagonal 50 yard pass. Unfortunately, he didn’t get enough on it and Motherwell hit us hard on the counter. The ball came to the young Estonian striker and he hit a super shot across Peter Enckleman, low into the keepers right hand side.

Lomas quickly joined Tommy and Alec on the touchline; he wasted little time in making a tactical switch. With Croft unwilling to put up a fight, he dropped Marcus Haber to left midfield and pushed Liam inside with an attacking remit. The move was in keeping with the character of Steve Lomas; unconventional and brilliant. We got back in the game and it was the a mixture of touch, vision and control that combined to get us one level terms. Great skill by Morris saw the ball come out wide to Croft; the Englander pinged a lovely ball across and Jody finished with great aplomb.

With Daley continuing to cheat and Fran Sandaza having a running, off and on the ball niggle with Clancy it’s fair to say that Saints fans were happy enough to go in level. This despite Liam hitting the woodwork and a smart stop by Randolph from a Fran freekick on the edge of the area.

As the players went down the tunnel, Fran Sandaza was giving Calum Murray a hard time. Given that he had been freshly booked, it’s disappointing that our senior players didn’t step in to avoid a him soaring to the top of the referees hit list. Perhaps it would be wise for Lomas to ask Callum to be last man off and make sure none of our players talk themselves into yellow cards during the interval. As it was, someone obviously had words with Fran at half time and his energies were fully focussed on the game, not on Clancy.

As ever with Steve Lomas, the team were fired up from the half time team talk and we set about the systematic destruction of Motherwell. Stuart McCall could only watch in horror as a once tight game swung completely to Saints dominance. We pushed and pressed, harried and hurried. Haber was on the right of midfield and making decent runs, Morris and Muzz were coping in midfield, Crofty, now in front of Callum started to look interested and Craig run his drained body to the limit in an effort to be the link between Fran and midfield. It worked a treat and in the away stand we could sense another brilliant Lomas victory. Then it crashed down.

A smart counter attack saw the Estonian superkid running at skipper Morris. The Englishman looked like Bambi on ice and Henrik had plenty of time to pick a spot. That said it was an excellent finish from the Estonian who also lost traction as he turned the Saints skipper. In fairness it was an excellent goal on many levels. The touch to and from Daly proved vital.

Even at 2-1 we were still optimistic, we were playing great football and Sandaza looked a real handful; Craig and Croft both showing terrific football brains to create oppurchancities for the Toledo Talisman. Then the Saints fans had their hopes and dreams shattered by yet more terrible luck. Jody Morris was once again the unlucky assailant. With Keith Lasley running forward and running out of options he decided to try a GeeMann special and hit a hopeless and hopeful shot from distance. Incredibly, the shot nicked off Morris dived right and turned left wickedly, deceiving Big Pete in the process.

Three goals for and one against was a perverse and twisted reflection of the game to that point. We always rally and with Stevie Lomas we now making bold and attacking subbies. The incredible Jackie Compton came on and lit up the grey Lanarkshire surroundings. His runs and crosses are simply wondrous to behold. We have to hope that he recovers to play against Hearts because he’ll cause chaos in the right back area and Liam has proved that he can play in a free-role alongside Fran Sandaza.

We did pull a goal back from a penalty and we pushed hard before and after, sadly to no avail. It was crushing to leave the ground without a point. Lomas’ initial interview with BBC sounded like sour grapes but in fact he gave an accurate reflection of the game. They got lucky with two goals whilst we hit the post and scored one exceptional goal. As I say, it’s a measure of how far we’ve come. That’s thanks to the vision of our board, including Geoff, who retained Lomas’ contact details and approached him with the right offer at the right time.

Despite a few issues, which Lomas will handle, we have a great squad and a great buzz. We need to ensure that Callum Davidson is retained. Every club needs a professional player that commands respect and Cal is one such player. He is involved with training the 19s on a regular basis and is very obviously a man that could go on to take over from Lomas when the legend moves back to England.

That’s all in the future; the current is Hearts on Sunday. We have a great chance tomorrow, we’ll need to be at our best; fans, players and management. We can break Hearts and make dreams come true. Let’s play our part and redress the Motherwell misfortune. Bring it.....