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.....

Hibs away

Momentous

Every so often in a season, pivotal points occur and you recognise them instantly; Saturday was such a day.

Steve Lomas has transformed Saints from a boring team of low-confidence, under-achievers to a bustling energetic team of believers. The transformation in players is self-evident; Ando has stepped up, Haber works his balls off and Sandaza tracks back with surprising regularity. With signings like Compton and Croft, the future looks bright for Saints. This is a golden era, be in no doubt. Your children and grandchildren will ask you about this era; be sure you can tell them of your match day experiences.

Personally, I am saddened by the loss of Garts and Parkin. The rugged defender couldn’t have had worse luck if he lived under a ladder. That said, a parting of the ways was inevitable following comments by Del in the summer. Parkin, was always gonna struggle from the break and with three recognised, in-form strikers playing ahead of him it was always gonna be wise to free up his chunky wage. Both lads leave with my best wishes, good and devoted servants of our great club. Fraudulent Willie Gibson is also away. His only achievement being to gain one and a half stones of puppy fat during his stay. Oh aye, he played a freekick out the park at Tannadice after Callum Davidson has asked him to show some composure. I reckon we signed him, because Del or Doc lost a bet with the Crawley Town gaffer.

Lee Croft arrived amidst a deluge of crap journalism. Scotland really has very few writers that break away from clichés and stereotypes. The lack of knowledge and research amongst Scottish journalists is embarrassing. I read very little about Croft because our “journalists” found it easier to print captions under photographs of his missus – whoever she is or was. Admittedly, she looks like a cliché personified. Not a patch on Gary Irvine’s missus...

Croft himself got lucky on the field, when from a rebound; the ball dropped kindly allowing him to lash a terrific right footed shot into the lower left postage stamp of Mark Brown’s goal. Initial thoughts are that he’s a poor man’s Gavin Swankie, a brilliant winger who can score for fun. His touch was mostly impeccable, his fitness utterly deplorable. Compton has arrived amidst stinging rebuke of his character and attitude, but for Crofty to be so unfit speaks volumes for his response to being dropped from the Derby side. It could well be that we’ve signed two tricky characters, but as they’re loan players we simply need them to do a job for four months. I trust Lomas to do that.

Both men certainly showed glimpses of promise on the debut, Crofty took his goal well and despite Compton losing Booth for the Hibs second, he arguably prevented a goal just moments earlier. Alert on the edge of our box, he showed great instinct to nick the ball away. I doubt he’ll ever have Crofty’s talent for finishing, but his crossing and willing to run by folk will stand him in good stead. It’s also worth remembering that Compton is a lefty and was asked to play wide right....

In the case of both men, we must temper our excitement with the blunt reality that 10 teams have a better left back than Booth. Only Dunfermline have a worse shirt filler. Remember that Cleve looked good against Kevin Fotheringham for 45 minutes at Station Park. No honestly, he really did....

The other talking point from the game was the disappearance of two midfield players. Kevin Moon has steadily dropped out of the frame under Lomas and that makes little sense from an outside perspective. I wonder if the contract extension was for when Jody departs, if so, he needs to get some games elsewhere. Maybe a loan move to Bristol....

The other guy to disappear is Murray Davidson. I don’t understand the fluctuating levels of performance from his this season. At Aberdeen he was scintillating, yet against Hibs, he looked as poor as he did in his first season. The game passed him by and it felt like we were playing with ten men. His team mates are mostly fans, but the fans are getting frustrated by him. Because we’re playing well, he’ll get off lightly; if we hit a sticky patch, he’ll be castigated by all and sundry. With Jamie Adams unavailable until March at the earliest, there’s no ready-made replacement waiting in the wings. Of course, as has been noted by several Saints players, nobody plays well in centre mid when Jody is selected.....

Jody himself had a decent game. Pushed slightly further up than normal, he had no Murray or Millar to battle with and should have perhaps been more adventurous on occasion. The shape of our side improved greatly in the second half and it’s no coincidence that Jody had a better second half as a result. The wee English terrier can often find his brain working way ahead of his team mates, having Fran and Haber in the side often allows Jody to play smarter balls. For all his baggage, he’ll be missed when he goes. It now looks unlikely that he’ll go in this window, despite Cook electing to stay put at Sligo.

On the left wing, Liam Craig again put in a stellar performance. Del’s first signing was undoubtedly one of the good ones. He came here with a perceived attitude problem, certainly talked his way into bother with referees in his first half year, but under Del he really turned himself around – with the brilliant exception of the St Mirren game in April 2010! Perceived troublemaker, left footed and a player that Saints fans know little about – that’s the first thing that Del and Lomas have in common, first signing similarities!

Liam took his goal brilliantly and his work rate was great all day. Callum didn’t advance much on the day meaning it was harder for Liam to link up but he always made himself available for an outball. His work rate seems to increase year on year. Any accusations of laziness have been blown out of the water. Indeed it was his full back that put in a lazy, albeit composed shift.

Callum rightly used his experience to spend the 90 minutes with a defensive mindset. The boy will make an excellent manager in due course. He just knows when to attack and when to defend. Very rarely does he get flustered and very rarely does he get decisions wrong. Quite unlike Euan Norris, who managed to book Callum for his first (and only?) foul of the game. A foul committed in front of the dugouts! That’s dugouts plural, Mr Norris; one where a bus load of overly-animated, ruffians shouted and bawled for almost 100 minutes, in the other dugout Tommy was generally under-control. Odd then that Tommy was the one receiving a lecture from the upstart charged with displaying a flashy board for subs and time added on.

We’re getting incredibly lucky with other teams results, but referees, and their band of equally incompetent colleagues, are doing their best to de-rail our push for top six. Not deliberately, I’m not “Celtic-minded”, we’re just getting unlucky. Runs of luck come and go; better to have bad luck when we’re well up, never want bad luck to coincide with poor form.

Inside him, the centre half pairing of Ando Cracks have now conceded 5 goals at Easter Road, but two were penalties which should never have been awarded. “Ando for Scotland” was the chant in the stand, richly deserved too. The veteran centre half made very few errors and can be rightly proud of his performance. We need to hope that the certainty of wages will be the deciding factor for Ando as he mulls over his future. If we lose him, a replacement will be near impossible to find. With Enckleman likely to flee the country in summer time, we need to try and ensure stability in our defence. Let’s hope we nail the deal in the next couple of weeks. His play will improve once the decision is made. He clearly enjoys his football now and he’s becoming ever more vocal on the field which is the sign of growing confidence.

His partner, Cracks, brings an incredible coolness to the backline. Excellent communication, a wonderful touch, strong in the tackle and built like Unimog; he’s been the surprise of the summer signings. I really wasn’t convinced when we signed him, but he won me over from his first game against Dunfermline. His role against Hibs involved marking O’Connor, he did it so well that the petty criminal was withdrawn early in the second half. None of the Hibs attackers managed to impress me; none of them would get in our team, that’s a surety.

Dave Mackay had a pretty poor game. I haven’t watched the re-run, but he let a ball come into the box in the first half that he should have cut out and seemed to be at sixes and sevens for large parts of the game. His strength is generally his ability to maraud forward, but with Crofty and Sandaza ripping the keich out of Booth; he was rather hemmed in. Get pressed much better in the second half as Fran played more towards the middle. Again it’s hard to judge the right hand men because we were being allowed to play the most obvious “one-twos” ever seen in the SPL.  It won’t be see easy against the Well...

Enckleman didn’t have to make many saves but when he did they were mostly under control. He had no chance with the penalty and Booth finished a very slick move to leave the Finn relying on lady luck. He’ll be unhappy to have let in two goals, but really he should be proud of his game.

Up front, I’m out of platitudes for the lads. I was critical of Haber first half for letting his foot off the gas. He knows that Sheridan is after his starting jersey and he should have been nailing his balls to the wall in a bid to ensure that he keeps Cillian on the bench. He didn’t in the first half, he got bullied and let his head drop for the last twenty minutes. In the second half he turned it round and ran himself into the ground. He was clearly unhappy at being withdrawn, particularly because his only competitor was the man who replaced him. I don’t know Lomas well enough to guess at who’ll start against Motherwell, but if I had to bet I’d go with Marcus and Fran. A partnership is blossoming so why change a winning side?

So we head to Motherwell, a team who struggle at home and who were thrashed by the Super Saintees last time in Lanarkshire. We need a strong result ahead of the cup tie, our rivals play Dunfermline in midweek and that will scunner their training for the week. A few injuries would be grand too. Either way, the momentum is with Saints; don’t go expecting, simply go believing! This is a golden age – don’t miss out on your chance to watch Lomas’ Legends.

Rangers at Home Jan 2012

Hard Luck Lads

Stevie Lomas first encountered Craig Thomson at Ibrox; what an introduction to Scottish football. The overpaid, incompetent BMW X5 driver was a clown in that game and was even worse when he visited Perth with Rangers on Saturday.

Whilst I am all too often guilty of sitting on the fence over some issues, please be clear that I don’t think he changed the result of the game yesterday. I do not believe he is a corrupt, in the sense that I don’t believe he deliberately gives the wrong decisions. I firmly believe that he is incapable of making the right decisions. His fitness does not seem to be an issue; he was often up with play and often had a clear view of incidents. He is simply useless. If he’s any sort of man, he’ll admit that Dorien should have been sent off for his foul on Sandaza, if not for his jersey pull on Haber before that. Admitting a problem is the biggest step to resolution of the issue.

The game itself wasn’t particularly entertaining but, whenever a result is possible against the Old Firm the atmosphere is decent. McDiarmid Park has been slowly re-gaining some atmosphere under Steve Lomas and the warmer weather and lighter nights will only help the ambience. There were no obvious stewarding issues and despite a very poor turnout from Saints fans, the contra-singing was strong and raucous.

In fairness, injustice creates a unity amongst fans and we reacted to our players wrongly protesting the Rangers opener. We need to all step back and think about a bit of role reversal. When Fran Sandaza broke away from the idiotic and disgusting hand shaking routine which blights every SPL match he ran to the East Stand gestured us to be more vocal and supportive. How sad that a player had to do that. I fervently believe that we enter into an unwritten contract when we enter the McDiarmid turnstiles; beyond any doubt we have an obligation to raise the roof in support of our players. Personally, I love it when Enckleman gets involved. Alan Main was not without fault, but he worked wonders when interacting with the fans. Lomas should encourage more of this behaviour from his number one.

Perhaps we need to think of new ways of creating an atmosphere. Our half time is wasted with trivial announcements; instead I’d like to see former players on the pitch. Perhaps such as Bruce Fummey would perform a tannoy role at half time, maybe we could have a competition to produce the Official Saints run out music?  The music needs to be upbeat and catchy, the crowd need a stimulus, the bairns on the pitch does not work. Maybe an adults competition, like we see at Scotland games, would be more popular. It would certainly create another sponsorship avenue and that should give increased newspaper coverage too. Please don’t think this is the sole responsibility of the board or Stuart and Paul.

We all have an obligation to the club we love; we all want the match day atmosphere to be better. If you have an idea, daft or sensible, please put your idea in writing and send it to the Commercial Department, McDiarmid Park, Crieff Road, Perth, PH1 2SJ. You will likely receive a standard reply, but as myself and plenty others can testify, if the idea is feasible, it will be given due consideration. The club are working their balls off, just because they can’t publicise every initiative doesn’t mean they are doing nothing. The time and effort spent with school kids is as incredible as it is surprising. It would be boring if they publicised every initiative. Anyway, back to the game...

Saints fans should be delighted that we played against Rangers, lost  2-1 and can rightly feel aggrieved by the score. That’s a measure of the improvement we’ve seen under Lomas. That aside, he repeated an error yesterday and that’s the first time I’ve had to write that.

The lack of Moon cost us dear yesterday. I must defend David Robertson, despite his chronic opening 20 minutes. I still don’t see what he brings to the team, but he is a good player. More than that, he tackled bravely, had a decent effort on goal and blocked/prevented a certain goal. He’s undoubtedly frustrating, but Lomas has seen something in him and he sees more of him than we do. His great judgement affords him the luxury of time.

Platitudes aside, he should have had Mooner in the team yesterday. We had a clear tactic not to rush their centre halves – common sense with one up top – but we lacked a gritty spark when the ball did come into midfield. Mooner would have fixed that. A confident Mooner would have buried Robbo’s miss from Fran’s selfless square ball. I understand why Lomas wants Muzz to find the net, but the bottom line is that he doesn’t possess a talent for that part of the game. Moon does and Lomas would do well to ensure he gets good coaching in the afternoons from a striking coach.

Now bear in mind that Robbo was arguably our worst player and you’ll understand why there was huge frustration in the home dressing room following the game. Not one player put in a poor shift, the tactics were virtually bang on (given the injury to Midgie) and the selection gets 10/11 from me.

Although not one of our players excelled in the game, neither did any of the Rangers players. Sone Aluko, a player inexplicably maligned by fans of other clubs, gave Callum Davidson a tough time, Stevie Davis worked well in midfield and Jelavic is decent up front. Other than that, we arguably won the other battles. As I say, great frustration on the day.

So to the issues of the day:

Craig Thomson is useless. The first goal was offside. The freekick preceding it was fine, it was taken from the correct area and, despite what I initially thought, the ball was stopped when it was struck. No problems with that. Players in blue should have firstly blocked the quick free kick and secondly put in a challenge on Aluko. We didn’t and they scored. Not Craig’s fault, but he remains useless. Whatever Lomas says publicly, he will be furious with his players for not defending that set play properly. The first goal against the Old Firm is always crucial.

Our players will review the footage and cringe. So too, should the West Stand linesman, Healy was offside. The goal should not have stood. I was certain at the time, but subsequently doubted myself. Having watched it several times since, I believe the Rangers number 15 was interfering with play, active, call it what you will; I believe Rangers got lucky that their goal stood, whereas Haber’s was chalked off. At least Haber’s was a decent finish.

Liam Craig, owner of the worst hair and boots at the club, sent in a hanging cross ball which Haber sent to Alexander’s right, before the Rangers back-up keeper could get to the ball, his defensive colleague neatly deflected the ball to the keeper’s left and into the back of the pokey. In the stands, I celebrated like mad, I don’t remember being so chuffed by a McDiarmid goal in ages. It just seemed right that we were gonna get a point.

That I felt a point had been secured is a reflection of Lomas’ hard work with the squad. Despite Millar forcing us into a boring 4-5-1, the midfield movement allowed to us attack well and with great fluid passing moves, a far cry from the stuffy and sideways stuff that we suffered under the previous regime. That’s not to say we were gung ho. A slip from Ando the Rock allowed Rangers one sight at goal, the rest of the time we were pretty much under control. Often when a team loses, the manager trots out trite rhetoric - “if my boys play like that, we’ll do okay” – but when Lomas did his finest list of clichés there was truth in his words. We have four hard games coming up, two against teams placed higher than us, but we can tackle them with confidence. Under Lomas we have a swagger and a gallousness that rattle sour opponents. I always argued that Del wasted too much time respecting the opposition; Lomas is proving me right. He, like me, believes in his players and trusts them to do a job. Apart from the Celtic game at home, they simply haven’t let him down.

Of course, as we know, Rangers got a winner, thanks to an awfy blunder from Rangers fan, Murray Davidson. The midfield hard man is coming under curious waves of attack from the WAP brigade and I’m confused by that. It’s well known that I am disappointed by his development but his performances this season have been his best to date. I’m really bewildered and wonder if the WAP brigade convinced themselves that he was genuinely on the verge of the national team. He isn’t good enough for Scotland, he isn’t as good as Jamie Adams and it’s no surprise that folk haven’t been bidding for him. Nevertheless he’s a decent SPL midfielder, our defenders rate him highly and so does our manager. I know who’s judgement I’ll follow.

Yes he made a mistake, it happens. I understand why Mackay, and to a lesser extent, Anderson, blamed Enckleman for the goal, but it was categorically Muzz’s fault. TV replays prove that beyond any doubt. The lion has a good attitude and he won’t let it affect him. We’ll pick ourselves up and look to correct things at the weekend.

The only other real talking point was the lack of red card for Goian’s persistent fouling. Booked early in the game, he should have walked for a blatant jersey pull. Not content with escaping punishment for that foul, he felled Fran Sandaza just after our equaliser. His dismissal may not have changed the game, but that’s not the point. Gerry McLaughlin was sent packing for a near identical foul in the same area the week before. No consistency, no parity, no consequences for the men in black.

I’m not rating the players this week, partly because I’m lazy and partly because they all performed well. Lomas is taking this league by storm and is making a mark in many ways at the club. A few players could well be heading for the exit in the next fortnight but he has good men ready to come in.

These are exciting times. If you’re not involved, you’re missing out.

Brechin at Home SFA Cup 4th Round

Steve Lomas and the Deathly Hush

Steve Lomas has been taken aback by the Scottish training facilities since his arrival three months ago. One can only imagine what his private thoughts are about the level of support his team gets at home.

Let’s put aside the argument that “we pay our money, we can say what we like”. We are sitting in fourth place in the SPL; unlike St Mirren, Inverness, Killie and Dunfermline we are through to the next round without the need to play an extra game. Not bad for a club that budgeted to finish eleventh. Our rookie manager has made very few mistakes and our performances at home have been much improved under his stewardship.

Folk also have very short memories. I’ve read much about what a great cup tie we witnessed at Glebe Park in 2011, I’ve read very little about how we only just scraped a win in the replay with a stuttering performance on McDiarmid’s tattie field.

At kick off on Saturday, everyone connected with Saints would have taken a victory in any circumstance. In the end, we got a comfortable albeit turgid win. None of the players can hold their heads particularly high after that sort of performance, but neither can the home support.

Steve Lomas didn’t lambast his players, nor should he have done so, but his tenure in the stand was notable by its brevity; he cut a most irritated figure for the bulk of the afternoon. He wasn’t helped by what appeared to be poor communication from his players. Murray Davidson gave a very clear indication that he wanted to be subbed, Mooner was shouted to the dugout yet Muzz, despite going down injured in front of Enckleman, stayed on for the 90. There was some confusion over Lomas’ gesture to Fran. Some folk thinking the gaffer was asking more of Fran and threatening him withdrawal, others thinking that he was re-assuring Fran that he’d be off in five minutes. Whatever the truth, Lomas picked the right team and they got the job done.

I love the fact that we scored very early in both halves, yet some expert has questioned Lomas’ team talks... Irony not lost on him, then! Once again the big ginge delivers a much needed result. We have three very tricky fixtures coming up and we need to ensure we get some points from the next nine. It’s not impossible that we could win all three, but it’s equally feasible for us to lose all three. We must work extremely hard to ensure we stay on course to sneak into the top six.

It’s worth considering that Saints are struggling to find decent pitches to train on at the moment. Many first team regulars are unable to train on the Astroturf so getting ball time into players hasn’t been easy. The pitch behind the east stand isn’t suitable in its current format. It would be folly for the club to spend money on McDiarmid until the new stadium/road matter has been resolved and that won’t be in time for the summer spend.

I’ve said it to death over the last few reports but we need solidarity and unity between; coaches, players and fans if we are to sneak into the top six. Outside of the park, I am all for freedom of speech and disagreements – I keep arguing with myself about Enckleman – but in the park the negativity and reckless abuse is bang out of order. I’m not the biggest fan of our club captain, but to lambast him as not being good enough is clearly nonsense.

Even the players who have grievances with Jody wouldn’t deny his undoubted ability. He still sits quite deep at times, but it’s clear to see that Lomas is working at making the midfield more fluid and that Jody is an integral part of that change. Personally, I remain firm in the belief that Mooner is a better player, we’ll probably not get the chance to see that much over the coming months unless Jody gets an injury or a ticket to Bristol. He judgement and skill let him down badly for the Brechin goal, though the striker reacted well and showed great strength against Ando and great bravery against Enckleman. He also finished it with great confidence given the tricky nature of the pitch.

It’s important to recognise that the ball was always out of Anderson’s reach, so kicking it out of play wasn’t an option. When he saw Enckleman on one of his outfield foray’s he had little option but to try and clear a path for Big Pete to get his boot to the ball. As at Dunfermline, it seemed that Enckleman hesitated when he came off his line and that made all the difference. The televised coverage was very poor so we’ll never know if my supposition was right or wrong, all that matters is Morris fecked up and we lost a goal as a result. Other than a well worked move late in the game, they didn’t threaten us much after that.

The back four were in decent form. Dave Mackay’s crossing was very poor and Alan Maybury probably could have been more adventurous against lower league opposition. That said, Mackay has been in great form ever since Lomas arrived and Maybury slotted in so well at left back that we simply didn’t miss Callum Davidson – that’s praise. We are very lucky to still have Maybury on board. Lomas would do well to ensure that Maybs gets a new deal sooner rather than later. He always seems to play in our important wins.

McCracken and Anderson had a curious afternoon. The wind was horrendous, the pitch was tricky and the midfield very as lazy as they’ve under Lomas yet they really had very little to do. They still put their bodies on the line but there were no really outstanding moments from either of them. Good players though – let’s hope they don’t get split up for the visit of Glasgow Blue on Saturday.

In midfield, the gaffer has a dilemma on his hands. Finnigan simply hasn’t cut the mustard on the right wing and a change would be nice ahead of the Rangers game. His options are very limited. We need to ensure that Davidson isn’t risked for the game as it’s the “least winnable” of the next three, that means that the defence should remain unchanged for next week.

He might choose to play Haber wide right, but that’s a waste. He might choose to put Mooner wide right but it’s not a position he plays well. Then it boils down to Robbo (who has never played well for us) or one of the bairns. Both Rikki and Scotty deserve a chance, but playing against Rangers is a big ask, especially when they haven’t played a competitive game for almost two months. Oh aye, the overweight Wullie Gibson is here until 22 January...happy days.

Given that, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him go with a five man midfield, hopefully with Mooner in the most advanced role and Haber on the right. That gives solidarity with the ability to move forward quickly and break in numbers. Of course if he goes to 4-4-2 for the second half, I’ll be delighted.

Sandaza has been a man in the news over recent weeks and his agent has probably been called every football insult by the board and the management. Fran ought to be old and wise enough to recognise why he ended up at Saints in the first place. Of course football clubs and managers are often as fickle and thick as the average fan; but he had few, if any, admirers last August.

Rumours continue to circulate that he didn’t want to play against Dunfermline and rumours also suggest that he is a poor worker at training. I don’t know enough to comment on the East End Park story but he’s certainly not the worst player at training, far from it. He doesn’t come in “under the weather”, he hasn’t ballooned in weight during his time with us and he managed to turn up for training over the festive period. That puts him three places ahead of some...

My own opinion is that nobody will front the cash to release him. We don’t need the money that badly and few clubs will be happy to pay the requisite fee when they can secure his signature on a pre-contract agreement. It would be different if a club could trust him to stay for two and a half years without causing bother.

One way he might be sold is if Rangers really have secured a deal with HMRC. It’s feasible that he could go to Ibrox in a double part-exchange deal that sees Murray Davidson head west with Cole or Wylde coming to us. As Steves Lomas and Brown have said, the deal must be right for St Johnstone. We will not roll over and let Rangers tickle our balls,

Three final comments:

• The referee was a joke – for both sides.
• Gerry McLaughlin didn’t deserve to be red carded – neither foul merited a yellow. I was ashamed of Fran and Marcus.
• Our home crowd is a pitiful disgrace. Would love to see us clap for 90 minutes solid at a home game, bet it wouldn’t last three. We act like a bunch of uncommitted, passionless hangers-on. If we continue to behave like that, we’ll not get top six because we won’t win enough games at home.

The atmosphere when the players run out affects their mental state, that’s beyond any doubt. It’s only natural that any player will take confidence from hearing a raucous noise heaping adulation on them; it’s the main reason why venues such as Parkhead, Ibrox, Tynecastle and Easter Road are tricky places to win. When an army marches into hand to hand combat they use noise to intimidate their opponents. If it’s good enough for warfare, it’s good enough for football.

Lomas cannot make McDiarmid a fortress without our help, it’s embarrassing that we’re not doing more to help him. Come on folks; let’s try uplifting noises, positive cheers and encouraging clapping. It costs nothing, but it could be priceless. Please help our club!