Temple Of Saints - 2002 Archive News From The Oracle
December
December 31st -
Paul Hartley admits that Saints need
another gubbing to keep their promotion hopes alive tomorrow at Gayfield.
"Everyone is writing us off and we are disappointed ourselves at
the position we are in. But we can still turn things around-providing we
don’t drop any more points. The three teams above us in the table
have all gone on a run. It is time we went on one ourselves. Draws are no
use to us. It is three points we need to be picking up from games, not
one. Everyone knows that our problem this season has been scoring goals
and the winning margins-1-0 and 2-0-in the matches against Arbroath this
season haven’t been particularly big. However, we played reasonably
well and were quite comfortable in both and in the situation we are in,
the main things is winning-whatever the scoreline."
In terms of team news, John Robertson
is doubtful with a thigh strain.
The transfer window opens tomorrow and Billy
Stark hopes to bring in some new faces. He said, "I’d
like a big striker, someone who could give us the physical presence we
lack up front, and a central midfielder. But finding people of the
standard we require isn’t that easy. I’ve been working on this
for the past few weeks though and will continue to work away." .
It's still unclear whether or not Ryan
McCann will be staying although no decision is required until his
loan expires on January 8th. One player who isn't coming though is
Colin Cramb with paper reports today
saying Saints have no plans to offer last week's trialist a deal.
Finally, the Martyn Fotheringham loan
move to Brechin has been called off by Saints.
December
30th - Tommy(right) was more
than happy to show off on Saturday after his goal. The celebration from
the Dane (involving a cartwheel and somersault which outdid his wee
brothers yesterday) was a first for him. He said, "It’s a
long time since I’ve done that-when I was smaller! It’s the
first time I’ve done one in a game. We’ve been struggling at
home and today we played a different system-three up front-and tried to
get forward as much as possible. That’s the way forward for us now.
We have to play like that in all our home games and hopefully we can build
on this result."
He was happy with his own performance though despite the number of missed
chances. "In the first 10 minutes we had a lot of really good
chances and when we didn’t get a goal by half-time I thought-oh no,
here we go again. But it was nice to get a goal like our first because I
don’t think we’ve had a lucky goal to get us going all season.
Then we got two more and I think we deserved that. It will be a boost for
the players because we’ve been struggling to get goals."
Billy Stark was just as happy with his
side except for the finishing. He said, "I thought the way we
started the game was terrific. We played well but were booed off by a
section of the support. That’s what we’re up against. We looked
a bit nervy, but you saw the difference after we went in front. You could
see the weight lifting off the players’ shoulders a wee bit. OK, it’s
a break that their man’s put it in his own net, but it was a
difficult ball to deal with and if you keep doing that you’ll get
breaks. I’ve told the players that if you stay positive you’ll
get them, and the good thing from my point of view is that they’ve
had tangible evidence of that today. The 3-0 scoreline was the very least
we deserved, whatever way you want to analyse the game." .
Meanwhile for conspiracy theories today, the Courier questions
Saints use of the scoreboard believing that regularly reminding fans we're
not scoring as many as ICT or the Weans is part of the reason for the boos
in the home stand on Saturday. Hmmm......
December 29th - Some loan info
today with Martyn Fotheringham
apparently set to head to Brechin City on loan until the end of the
season.
December
28th - Confirmation that Saints have given
Colin Cramb access to training
facilities though no word of any permanent move for the striker.
Billy Stark has been speaking to other
managers as to who's available when the transfer window re-opens on
Wednesday with some names already targeted.
Looking ahead to today's game, Flash
Forsyth(right) believes that the next 3 fixtures can kick-start the
promotion challenge (no honestly, he really means it this time). The
defender looks set to play against the Wasps today and said, "When
you are up in the stand all you want is to be on the park helping the
team. I think we’ve played well enough so far but the results have
not been ideal. We’ve got three big games coming up and if we win
them we will be able to look forward to the rest of the season and it’s
a good chance to kick-start our challenge. People will be looking at Alloa
to be a game we should win but as we saw last week with Inverness it is
not always as easy as that. We have got to go out and work hard and, with
a big pitch, we need to get on the ball and use the space to put them
under pressure, which we have rarely done to teams. Against Queen of the
South, we didn’t start the game well and they got the goal, which is
always difficult to get back. But if we get the first goal, the confidence
will rise and I don’t see any reason why we can’t win from
there."
As for the almost constant complaints from the McD stand he said, "I
don’t hear anything when I am on the park but in the stands, I have
heard it and I have wondered if it has had an effect. But as a younger
player, I don’t feel any pressure at all. The only pressure the
gaffer puts on us is to make sure we go and work hard and he has taken any
other pressure off by saying that."
7pm - In the end Saints ran out well-deserved
3-0 winners over Alloa thanks to a
Seaton own goal and strikes from Flash
and Tommy which seemed to silence the
moaners who booed the team off at half-time. The manager praised the
players as well saying, "The lads did well to work hard for the
win and fully deserved it. They are short on confidence but it was good to
see them put the boos from a section of the crowd at half-time behind them
to get the three points". Elsewhere in the league, ICT and
Falkirk got excellent wins and Clyde a draw at Dingwall.
December 27th - Well after the
excesses and joys (see Fir Park yesterday) of the Xmas season it's back to
reality tomorrow with the visit of Alloa to McD. Whilst Saints are looking
for their 3rd win this season over the Wasps, Billy
Stark knows that the last 3 home games have seen us fail to take 3
points in any of them and he's looking for the players to turn it round.
"We have to be big enough to say our home form isn’t good
enough and that’s down to pressure. We have players who, when they
get the chance to play the ball forward, take the easy option of not
losing the ball. That’s what happens. You need to make mistakes
trying to do the positive thing. All that people in the stands will see is
a mistake, but that’s when players need to be strong enough to ignore
that. We look a different side away from home, more confident and assured.
We’ve had good as well as really good performances away."
He's hoping to build on the performance towards the end of the Queen of
the South game a fortnight ago as well. "I’ve never been
involved in a comeback as dramatic as that. Salvaging a point from a
two-goal deficit shows that we must have something about us. People see
what they can use against you when things aren’t going
well-questioning our spirit and fitness. But that’s ridiculous and
that finish to the game slaps all that down. We have to look at the Queen
of the South game and say, why did that happen? Why did we manage to come
back from two down? What we need now is a run of results without a dent to
our confidence. That might turn out to be the most important five minutes
of the season and the most important goal Mark Reilly scores"
Not too much team news with the only possible change being a return for
Mark Baxter who has apparently done
well in training this week.
December
24th - No news on a rearranged date for the trip to Paisley yet but
with the league not requiring a date to be arranged until February, it
looks like there's no rush on the part of either club.
Meanwhile there was plenty of goodwill on show at McD last night as
Saints went down 6-bloody-1 to Scumdee in the U-21 game.
Ryan McCann got our goal but more
interesting was the sight of 28-yr old ex-Accies, Jambo and heaps of other
clubs striker Colin Cramb(right)
playing as a trialist up front. He was subbed after an hour and to round
off a lovely night, Eddie Malone got
this week's red card for handball.
Finally, Merry Xmas to Saintees everywhere - may you get what you
want (starting with 3 points this weekend).
December 23rd - Well after that
weekend (wasn't it boring) it's back to normal today - yup nothing about
Saints in the media. In the rest of the Division, Caley Thistle look set
to decide on their new manager today with both Alan
Kernaghan and John Connolly apparently on the short list of
4 with the former revealing in the papers yesterday he's not put pen to
paper on his contract at Clyde yet.
Billy Stark was at Gayfield on Saturday
to watch Arbroath v Ross County. Apparently we also had someone up north
for the ICT v Alloa game. The U-21s are in action tonight at McD against
Scumdee. Because of the layoff on SaturdayPaddy
Connolly, Ryan McCann,
Emmanuel Panther and Robbo will all
play. Mark Baxter will miss out due to
his calf injury but is expected to be back in training this week. Of the
other victims, Stuart McCluskey and
Peter MacDonald are said to be "progressing".
December 21st - No game so it's
boring as feck today.
December 20th - Despite
Marc McCulloch recovering enough to be
available for tomorrow's game, it seems that the match itself is in "severe
doubt". According to a Buddies official, "If the game
was scheduled for Friday it wouldn’t go ahead and, although a thaw is
forecast, there is still likely to be some bite left in the ground,
particularly the area in front of our main stand which doesn’t get
the winter sun."
Billy Stark said, "If the
weather stays the way it is I don’t see much chance of our playing on
Saturday, but we have to prepare as if the game was definitely on then see
what happens"
Elsewhere and we've been linked with Pars midfielder Stewart Petrie
for a possible move in next month's transfer window.
5.30pm - Tomorrow's match against St Mirren was postponed this
afternoon due to a frostbound Love St pitch. No word yet as to a
rearranged fixture date.
December 19th - Little news to
report. The only Saints-related item is that Mark
Baxter and Marc McCulloch both
missed training this week with knocks and are already rated "doubtful"
for the trip to Paisley.
December 18th - More
Jim Weir in the papers today with the
skipper trying to remain positive about his injury and his future. Out of
contract in the summer, he said, "It’s too early to speak to
anyone at the club about the situation yet. I don’t think they know
the plans for a number of people on the playing staff so it’s a case
of wait and see. I’m hoping it’s not the end of my time with St
Johnstone but with my contract up in the summer, and two years of
repetitive injuries, it’s hard to say just now. The club have been
paying me a lot of money with little return in a playing sense but I’m
remaining quite positive I can get myself fit for next season. There’s
a lot of people out of contract and the priority for the club is promotion
but the way football is, with less and less money, people will leave. I
would hope I can get back fit and still be involved with the club."
"It’s difficult for me sitting in the stand and watching the
team struggle. I’m St Johnstone through and through and so are my
kids and we see what the team means to the town because we live here and
it’s important to get back to the level we achieved before. I don’t
have any doubt I’ll still be a big influence around the club and
intend to be there nearly every day, doing what I can to help. The club
have been fantastic to me and I don’t see that changing. The
treatment I get is first class and I couldn’t have been at a better
club at this time."
Some good news though with Kiegan Parker
declared eligible for Love St despite his red card on Monday night.
December
17th - Last night's U-21 game saw Saints draw 3-3 against TFOE.
Ryan McCann got one for us and
Kiegan Parker's run continued with a
couple of goals although he arsed it up in the 65th minute with a 2nd
yellow card and subsequent red for dissent. There's no official word yet
on whether that means a ban for this weekend's trip to Paisley.
There's some really bad news on the injury front with
Jim Weir(right) ruled out for the rest of
the season, with some unconfirmed reports that this time it could end his
playing career. The knee knock which flared up in the U-21 game at
Pittodrie worsened over the last week and a trip to a London specialist
brought the bad news. The Saints skipper said, "I thought, and
hoped, at first that it was just a minor knock on an old injury but the
club doc and physio weren't so sure. I got an appointment with the
specialist in London fairly quickly and he gave me the bad news. The
injury has obviously come at a bad time for me with my contract running
out at the end of this season. Although this isn't a career threatening
injury, I am 33 and I was looking to earn myself another contract by my
performances on the park. There's no point looking too far into the future
just now; I'll just need to see what happens. I'm in plaster for the next
six weeks but after that I hope to still be able to help out with the
other injured lads."
Hopefully it won't mean the end of the defender's career at Saints -
given he's got his coaching badges and is one of the few players to show
any passion for the club, it's perhaps time Saints recognised this and
gave him a chance to move into the backroom staff. In the meantime best
wishes to the skipper from the Temple.
December 16th -
Mark Reilly is today's sop to the media
as he explained the poor performance against Queen of the South. The
midfielder said, "Obviously at home we’re certainly not
doing ourselves justice. The players have got to do a lot better. We didn’t
start well and I think some of the players are aware of the crowd getting
restless, but we’ve still got to do a lot better. We’re letting
ourselves down and we’re letting the manager and supporters down. In
the second half the manager went with three up and Ian Maxwell was up at
the end as well. Normally I wouldn’t make it into the box but I
decided to gamble. We didn’t lose ground on Inverness or Falkirk but
with them playing each other, and it ending up a draw, we were hoping to
make up ground. There’s no point in us looking at them at the moment
though, we have to look at ourselves and do better because we’re
certainly under-achieving at home." . He also revealed that
Stark kept the players in the dressing
room for 45 minutes after the game to read them the riot act.
December 15th -
Billy Stark praised the fighting spirit
of the fans but his comments post-match were rather strange. "At
2-0 they deserved their criticism but it was a good positive end by the
players. We must get into teams more. When our players see us hitting the
post they should get lifted but instead feel sorry for themselves and
that's something we must improve on." . Now I don't want to read
too much into that statement but when the manager believes that "they
deserved their criticism" then to me that implies he believes
the boos and chants if "Stark must go" from the stands
somehow were not aimed in his direction. Perhaps he's been misquoted but
with that sort of attitude and lack of responsibility how the fuck can we
ever expect to get things to improve?
Almost as wacky in terms of post-match comments was John Connolly
who came out with "Where the referee got four and half minutes of
injury time I do not know." - hmm despite the warnings from the
ref about timewasting at the start of the second-half QoS still
managed to spend a lot of time impersonating Celta Vigo and turning every
tackle into an Oscar-winning episode of Casualty. And he wonders where the
injury-time came from? God spare us from brainless managers!!
And with the papers all but sacking the manager today it was interesting
to see John Connolly on Scotsport this afternoon talking
about his ambitions to "move into full-time management".
Should be an interesting week.
December
14th- Emmanuel Panther says
he's planning to keep his place in the first team after a couple of good
performances. "It’s good to be back in the team. I’d
been plugging away in the under 21s and the reserves, because I wasn’t
playing well at the start of the season. I knew that and the manager knew
that. I’ve just been patient, I didn’t take a huff and I put in
more work in training to get back in the team. Hopefully now that I’m
in the team I can stay there. I know that my place isn’t secure
because there are people like Mark Ferry, Martin Fotheringham, Ryan McCann
and Ryan Stevenson waiting to come in. That will keep me on my toes. I
need to keep my form up to stay in the team."
After last week's win he reckons Saints can build on that to get back
into contention. "I think we showed our character on Saturday
when we were brought back to 1-1 but went on to win. It’s given us
the confidence we needed and hopefully we can now go on a wee run which
will see us climb up the league. If we play the way we played last week I
don’t think many teams could beat us. We’ll be looking to get a
few more goals as well-that’s something everyone in the team is
looking to do. Obviously Andy Goram’s a bit of a legend and I’ll
be doing my best to score one past him tomorrow. That would be something
to remember."
Billy Stark, meanwhile is looking for
the defence to start chipping in with goals, having failed to hit the net
this season and an increased strike rate from set pieces. He said, "It’s
a very poor statistic that we need to improve on. Set-pieces are a big
factor in the game. To only score two goals from set-pieces this season is
ridiculous. We’ve not scored anywhere near enough goals from
set-pieces and that’s compounding our goalscoring problem. When
defenders come up for corners they’ve got to look as if they want to
score and we’ve been working on that. Generally Paul Hartley gives a
good delivery and we’ve got to capitalise on that."
As for the team selection, Jim Weir is
still out and it looks like Mark Baxter
will miss out with a calf knock. That means a return earlier than
anticipated for John Robertson(right).
The manager said, "John played for the reserves at Forfar on
Tuesday night but he only started training on Monday. His last game was
against Arbroath at the start of November and he’s still a bit short,
but circumstances might dictate that he has to come in and play a part."
7.30pm - Well we're nothing if not unpredictable. Another dire
home performance saw a 2-2 draw only
rescued thanks to late, late, late goals from sub
Ryan McCann and
Mark Reilly. With the top two drawing
as well we've not fallen any further off the pace but the poor performance
(let's face it we were bloody lucky to get a point) might not still be
enough to save Billy Stark with the home
support making their feelings known for the last 20 minutes of the game.
As an interesting aside to that Radio Scotland tonight reported
that Billy Kirkwood is one of the names
rumoured to be in the running for the vacant job at Caley Thistle.
December
13th- Latest injury news is that Jim
Weir is struggling to be available tomorrow. Of the longer-term
injured, Peaso, whose been out with
a groin injury will start some running and light work this week. Not so
good for Stuart McCluskey and
Ryan Stevenson who have no date
pencilled in yet for a possible return.
Tomorrow gives Billy Stark a chance to
get a decent run going with a run of games coming up over the festive
period which are about as easy as it can get. Speaking of the next few
games, the manager said, "It doesn’t take a genius to work
out that if we were to go on a run over these next few weeks we’d get
ourselves right up there. But it is easier talking about winning these
games than actually doing it, and, as a manager, the important thing is
concentrating on each match as it comes along, rather than looking too far
ahead."
Mark Baxter(right), whose impressed
big-time is a doubt with a calf knock. Stark
said, "Initially we thought Mark had a calf knock and would be
back training by Wednesday, but it now seems he has strained the muscle
and, as he still isn’t training, that’s a wee concern. Jim is
still feeling the knee and as far as the weekend is concerned-it’s a
case of wait and see. But the lads who played at the back last week did
alright and the fact we have the best defensive record in Britain, despite
personnel changes, shows we haven’t been found wanting at the back
whoever is playing there."
December 12th- Injury news first
and John Robertson is expected to be
available for first-team selection by the end of December. Of course,
whether or not he'll be able to dislodge the impressive
Mark Baxter remains to be seen.
Billy Stark said, "After a
month out, John needs games. But fortunately, with under-21 fixtures
against Celtic and Dundee coming up on the next two Mondays, he’ll
get those and that should ensure we have him available before too long."
. Jim Weir has managed to train
yesterday to try and shake off the knee knock.
Not such good news for ex-Saints player Gerry
McMahon. Now with Glenavon over the Irish Sea, he broke his
leg this week in 2 places. Popular player out there now (how things change
from his time at McD) the Temple wishes him all the best for a full
recovery.
December 11th-
Billy Stark, who for the first time in
weeks seems almost willing to stick his head above the parapet has praised
Kiegan Parker's U-21 hat-trick - his
first in senior football. "For Keigan to get his first hat-trick
is a big, big bonus. They were all good striker’s goals and you could
see the positive affect they had on him. You could see his hunger for more
goals after he scored his first. He’s still a young boy and he’s
suffered a bit. He’s been working hard in games, but he hasn’t
been playing particularly well. The base of working hard is there and now
we’re looking for him to get a bit of confidence. Hopefully this will
be the boost he needs." .
Not such good news for Jim Weir who went
off at half-time with a knee knock and is set to be reassessed today to
see if he'll be available for the visit of QoS on Saturday.
John Robertson managed 90 minutes
yesterday as Saints went down 2-1 to Forfar in the Reserve League East
with Daniel Noon scoring Saints goal from
the penalty spot.
December 10th- Saints U-21s had
a good 3-2 win away to Aberdeen last night with
Kiegan Parker scoring a hat-trick
including a last-minute winner as Saints fought back from being 2-1 down.
Jim Weir also took part in the action.
Elsewhere in the First and it looks like Inverness might be about to lose
their management to the Dons with reports suggesting both Steve
Paterson and Duncan Shearer are in talks with the Pittodrie
board.
December
9th- Today's piece of post-match back-slapping comes from
Paul Hartley who took time out to
praise Emmanuel Panther's(right)
performance on Saturdayas well as promise not to get sent off ever again,
cross his heart etc etc etc. He said "It was good to get back
playing again after the two-week suspension and I think the midfield
really battled it out today. We defended well, played some good football
and I think we were worthy of the three points. I’m delighted we’ve
put a performance on. Tommy had three or four chances and kept digging
away, and we caused them problems all day. Manny's only 18 and a strong
kid and I think he’ll go on to bigger and better things at St
Johnstone. It was great to back. I know I’ve been silly. Getting sent
off for punching someone is just not me. I’ve learnt my lesson and I
want to get back playing well, week-in, week-out. We need six or seven
winning games running and hopefully we can do that and get ourselves back
in the chase, so that by Christmas or January we can have a real go."
Billy Stark, meanwhile was praising
makeshift striker Tommy saying, "I
was delighted for Tommy. It was his first game up front and I thought he
had a really good all-round performance. When you have pace, you have to
have a wee bit of intelligence, both from the player and from those
feeding him, and the pleasing thing was that we showed that. We played
Tommy in a number of times and it was a great weapon for us."
December
8th- First up there's a small piece in the News of the World
linking Saints with a January move for Ayr striker James Grady -
although with Scumdee, Hibs and Falkirk also interested don't expect
anything from it.
Elsewhere and Ian Maxwell has been
talking about how amazed he was with yesterday's winner. "Tommy
had been unlucky earlier and when this chance came to his right foot I'd
have put money on him not scoring. But then he went and stuck it in the
top corner.". The big defender was pleased with the performance
and result though. "That's the first time we've lost a goal and
then come back to win the game. Everybody dug in and there was a good
spirit and togetherness in the team as we fought to get the result. We
were desperate for three points to get back on track after the results
we've had."
As you might expect, Billy Stark echoed
the comments saying, "It was a blow psychologically when Clyde
scored as we should have been two or three up but the boys didn't panic"
December
7th- Today's lamb to the slaughter with the confidence-boosting
interview with the media is Tommy Løvenkrands(right).
With a typical Scandanavain statement of the bloody obvious he said, "We
just need to score more goals" (no shit Sherlock)"It
been frustrating sitting on the sidelines, but I’m feeling fit and my
confidence is really high. The problem right now is that we just cannot
score goals. We played really well against Falkirk and I don’t think
gave them much at all. We had many chances, but we just couldn’t get
the ball over the line. And then, of course, they scored. Hopefully,
against Clyde, we can get an early goal and force them to come forward.
That might change the game and maybe then we could get a few goals. With
this team we should score more goals. I’m surprised there aren’t
more goals from set-pieces, where we have men from the back who head the
ball really well, such as Darren and Ian. What’s needed is a big win
to get us going. We’ve been fighting for our points, winning one-nil.
We just haven’t had that big game yet. Myself, I’m hoping that I
can score a few goals now that I’m back and fit."
Meanwhile the forgiveness of "Arse"
Hartley appears to be complete with Billy
Stark saying, "We’ve missed Paul. He has four goals
from midfield this season, which isn’t bad and, as far as passing the
ball and controlling games goes, he’s important to us-so we’re
delighted to have him available again." ....although the more
cynical of us might point out that given the way he's being touted for a
transfer to an SPL club in the papers we'd better get used to "missing"
him.
Ian Maxwell has trained and looks like
being fit with the manager saying, "Of those who have been out,
he is the only one with a chance of being fit. If he’s fit, he’s
quite an important one for us to get back, as he’s done well."
. Mark Baxter and
Emmanuel Panther will also play.
Stark said, "They both played
well last week and will still be heavily involved. The type of player Mark
is, he didn’t give me any cause for worry about how he would handle
it. He’s a game lad, has a great attitude, he’s quick and very
fit and I wanted him to bring these attributes to the team."
The manager knows he's under pressure today as well with most supporters
believing his reign will end with anything less than a convincing
win at Broadwood today. Billy Stark said
: "I have been under intense pressure since I took this job. I
was under pressure to keep us in the SPL and it didnot happen now I am
under pressure to take us back up to the tip flight. I'm under no
illusions as to the magnitude of the task here but there are 20 games to
go and all the speculation kicked off before the season even started in
August. I am well used to it by now. Comments attributed to our chairman
because of a back-firing joke and the stupid comment of a local DJ about a
vacancy at McDiarmid Park did not help matters or make the job any easier
for me. The chairman got drawn into dialogue with this DJ and all of a
sudden it made the papers. I've spoken to the chairman about what is
required at the club and everthing is fine. That is the nature of the game
that we are in and I accept that." 
"We need to start scoring goals and winning games, it's as simple
as that. That is not easy in this division but fans are quick to react
when results don't go your way. Our defence has not conceded too many
goals this season but our strikers are creating chances and not taking
them. They do not do that deliberately. Football supporters are an
intolerant bunch and we live in a society where results are the be all and
end all. There is a lot more to football management though than just
getting results. Unfortunatelty supporters do not see that and I accept
that as part and parcel of any mangerial job."
7.30pm - Well to give him credit, Tommy
came up with the goods with a cracking solo 2nd half effort to deservedly
get the points in a 2-1 win at Broadwood
after Chris Hay's opener was cancelled out
by Hinds. We easily deserved the win and it was one of the best
performances oif the season. Bad news though was MoM
Emmanuel Panther(right) going off with
what looked like an ankle knock 5 minutes from time.
Finally reports suggest that TFOD had a scout at the game today looking
at a certain keeper.
December 6th- Latest rumour has
it that Alan Main has already signed a
pre-contract agreement with TFOD. Not much else to report yet - at least
it means no new injuries. Mark Baxter
and Emmanuel Panther look like holding
onto their starting jerseys.
Billy Stark, who by all rumours is
definitely, honestly, cross my heart and hope to die, really on his last
chance this time, is confident of a win tomorrow. Speaking on the official
site, he said, "Clyde are on their own patch so they will be
looking to come and have a go at us. On the other hand we know how crucial
the three points are and we need to get them. It's important having Paul
Hartley back, he's had his punishment and it's important now for him to
get back playing with his mind on the job."
Finally, there's another new Saints site opened at
www.supersainties.2ya.com
December 5th- Looks like
Paul Hartley is back in favour with
the Perth management and he's a definite starter for the trip to
Broadwood. Billy Stark said, "What
Paul did was ridiculous and he was punished severely over it. But he is
full of remorse and hopefully will be coming back feeling he has something
to prove, and we can benefit from that." Elsewhere the ankle
injury that kept Ian Maxwell out of
the Falkirk game seems sorted and he's back in training and in with a
chance of playing.
December
3rd- Last night's U-21 game saw Saints go down 2-1 at home to
Partick Fissel with Paul Hartley
getting our goal with a 25-yard effort. There was the traditional show of
unity with the board and management sitting together.
All that hasn't stopped Geoff
Brown(right) appearing in the papers today with his latest warning
for Billy Stark. The chairman said, "No
club can go indefinitely without getting results. It doesn't take a genius
to work that one out. Billy has always been aware of what's expected of
him here. Make no bones about it, the current run of results can't be
allowed to go on and on and I'm looking for an improvement. Things are
going well at under-age level but every manager is judged on his first
team results. There won't be any knee-jerk reaction to the defeat by
Falkirk. They weren't better than us and we've lost to them twice from
dead balls. The blight on our game is we aren't scoring goals. You have to
ask if you're guaranteed a better team simply by replacing a manager."
"The onus is on the players to get the results which will save the
manager - and themselves. Players will be going out of contract and a few
of those who left here in the summer have found trouble getting a club. We
have to be doing well to pay the wages".
Meanwhile, Billy Stark, if you believe
yesterdays reports on his comments after the Falkirk game, is apparently
set on buying another striker when the transfer window opens in
January because it's "the only thing we lack"....apart
from goals, tactics, motivation etc.
Finally there's a plea from the club for more sellers for their 50/50
tickets at home games. The press release reads St Johnstone
Football Club are looking for enthusiastic volunteers to sell 50/50 Half
Time Draw tickets on matchdays. We are looking to dramatically increase
matchday sales by selling outwith the stadium as well as at turnstiles
within the ground. As these posts are for volunteers all sellers will be
admitted to the game free of charge therefore fans who are students may
find this job of interest. We do however welcome applications from Season
Ticket holders who are willing to help out. Anyone interested should
e-mail Paul Fraser at the Club:- paul@saints.sol.co.uk
December
2nd- Following on from the usual Sunday depression, it's time for
the Monday laugh at the management's post-match comments. Let's hear it
for Billy Stark(right) who said, "That
result obviously makes it a lot more difficult for us but it’s not
something that’s impossible. The season still has a long way to run."
. As usual bad luck and a lack of "breaks" is being
blamed with the manager's take on the goal being, "I don’t
think it was a free-kick in any shape or form. We just can’t get a
wee break, it’s as simple as that. I don’t think anybody would
look at that game and say we got a break. We got plenty of balls into the
box, their keeper made two great saves and they had a saving header off
the line. You can’t do much more than that. If we keep getting the
ball into the box like we did there, we’ll get that wee break we
need." . See same old comments. (Small note to the
manager - yes you can do more. Start with marking their only dangerman at
set pieces and try getting the ball over the bloody line instead of headed
off it)
The manager did (correctly) go on to praise debutant right-back
Mark Baxter. "He’s only
17 but he’s a game boy with ability and a great attitude. He’ll
punch his weight and I thought he did exceptionally well."
December
1st- As usual on a Sunday morning these days, the grapevine is
buzzing that time is up for Billy Stark
and his chum Billy Kirkwood(right). The
threat of part-time football is looking more and more likely next season
given the current level of losses at the club (both on and off the park)
so the board may wait until the end of the season before restructuring the
club behind the scenes. If we do end up going part-time it's inevitable
that it will be a much, much longer period before we're able to challenge
for the title (look at St Midden). The youth structure will be safe,
although some youth teams will be disbanded, with the majority of the
first team squad consisting of youngsters (no bad thing perhaps given the
way they've shown up their senior counterparts in recent years). Still
that's all hopefully hypothetical just now and the club will be able to
turn things round.
Top Of News
November
November
30th - Paddy Connolly believes
today is the chance for Saints to prove their worthy of challenging for
the title. Speaking ahead of the Weans' game he said, "The next
couple of games are big ones for us and we have to look to take maximum
points. We’re a bit off the pace just now and we need to try to turn
things around. We need a big win. That doesn’t necessarily mean a big
score, more a win against a top team like Falkirk. Hopefully that will
come tomorrow and it will be the result that turns our season around. The
aim is to try to get momentum going and string together a few wins on the
trot like Falkirk and Inverness have done. That’s the sort of form
you need if you’re going to win leagues."
Whilst Paddy's shoulder is described
as "80-90% fit", he'll be able to play.
Stark has said though that he might make
"one or two changes" for the Falkirk game. He said, "This
is definitely a really good opportunity for us, and that’s how we’re
looking upon it. For the most part you play games in the league and then
have to wait to see how other teams around you have got on. But when it
comes to the matches against teams close to you, you know that if you do
the business you don’t need to look around the grounds, and that’s
the case today. Lots of positive things can come out of a win-most
importantly three points, of course. There’s a buoyancy you can get
from winning a game like this. There’s no point in worrying about
Falkirk. It’s about going out and doing what we do best, taking the
initiative early on and pressing home the advantage. We have to get in
about them and be bigger and better than them on the day. We were fragile
after losing at Brockville and it’s resulted in the inconsistency we’ve
had since then. That day it was an intimidating atmosphere and the referee
was intimidated. They had a lot of things going for them that hopefully
they won’t at McDiarmid." ...hmmm an intimidating atmosphere
at McD??????
For the Weans, Lee Miller is suspended and Kevin "Lanky Bastard"
James is out injured.
7pm - Well from Man of the Match last week to Arse of the Week
this time, Cap'n Jim(right) gave away the
free kick leading to the eventual winner for the Weans in today's
1-0 defeat but then got red carded
and conceded a penalty with 5 minutes left. Of course by then it was all
over and part-time footie beckons next season. If we're looking for plus
points, the players fought for the 90 minutes but a lack of finishing
skills again cost us dearly. Mark Baxter
made a good debut at right back and Emmanuel
Panther added some bite to midfield. But if you want a real minus
the crowd was four folk shy of 4000 with the Weans bringing a more than
healthy travelling support.
November
29th - Well as if the current injury list isn't enough
Stark(right) has revealed that
Keigan Parker is suffering from a badly
bruised ankle but should make it along with Paddy
Connolly. John Robertson is
set to miss out with his sair tae though. Training this week has been
described by the manager as "lively" (hopefully as in
electrodes to the genitals to generate some passion lively). He's also
apparently asked them to "think positively going into the game"
and said, "In the Ayr United game things didn’t go for us in
a few ways. We fought our corner well at Ross County, though, and we were
enjoying a good spell before that. The players have to remain positive."
- see positive - it's the electrodes again!!!!
Stark meanwhile has also issued a
hands-off warning to any SPL clubs over Hartley
although he admitted any possible new contract talks won't take place
until we know where we'll be playing next season.
6pm news - Keigan Parker has
been passed fit for the Weans visit but Paddy
Connolly faces a late fitness test.
November 27th - Latest news is
that Paddy Connolly might be able to
make the team on Saturday. Another doubt though is
John Robertson, whose broken toe
places him in the "doubtful" category.
Finally Ross County have appointed Alex Smith as their new
manager today.
November 26th - Both
Marco and
Stuart McCluskey look set to miss out
on the Falkirk game this weekend with both their injuries looking more and
more like long-term ones, with the latter undergoing a scan this week on
his groin (oo-er missus). Another possible absentee is
Paddy Connolly who's aggravated his
shoulder injury. Hartley of course is
still suspended.
November
25th - Cap'n Jim(right) is urging
the fans to back the players next weekend, believing that could make all
the difference. Speaking after the Dingwall game, he said, "One
or two fans were shouting in the second half but they have to stamp that
out and get behind us. We all know that if the crowd gets behind us then
it acts like a 12th man. It would be crazy for anyone to say we're out of
the title race because if we beat Falkirk next week then we are only five
points behind them. The year we qualified for Europe we were 10 points
behind Kilmarnock with about half a dozen games to go. I still feel we are
the best team in the league but we need to start believing it. I have been
sitting in the stand with the fans and I feel they are beginning to turn
on us. The supporters have had some great times over the last five years
but everyone has lows in the game. What they have got to realise is that
with their support the good times are just around the corner."
November 24th - Well the trip to
Dingwall ended up with a 0-0 draw against
Ross County although the game was a lot more entertaining than the
scoreline suggests. Jim Weir returned to
central defence but again the midfield let us down with continual high
balls forward. After the game Stark
said, "I don't want to sound like I'm using bad luck as an excuse
but on any other day the breaks in front of goal could have gone the other
way"....nice non-excuse that.
Elsewhere results almost went our way with Clyde beating Falkirk who had
Lee Miller sent off and banned for next weeks visit to McD. ICT won at
Gayfield though to take over the top spot.
November 22nd - 17-yr old
right-back Mark Baxter who has
impressed for the U21s is in the squad for the trip to Dingwall. The
manager said "We will see if Mark actually appears on Saturday,
but he is certainly in the squad. The situation with injuries and
suspensions does not make things easy, but that is football and we just
have to get on with it the same as anybody else."
"Arse" Hartley will be
missing though as he starts the first of a 2-match suspension (confirmed
by the SFL). John Robertson,
Stuart McCluskey and
Marco will all also miss out.
Jim Weir could be in line for a return to
the team.
And one final note - due to the nature of this weekend's game, there
won't be a match report on the site until I get back on Sunday.
November 21st - Well we can
safely chalk Alan Kernaghan off the list
of possible candidates as a replacement for Stark
should the expected happen. An interview with the ex-Saints player and
current Clyde manager on Teletext sees him ruling out any move
back to McD because "at this stage of my managerial career it
would be a step back". So that's that then.
Injury-wise, Stuart McCluskey has
been ruled out of this weekend's trip north but
Paddy Connolly has resumed training
and has a chance of being fit.
Meanwhile, Meadowbank are the latest club said to be lining up a bid for
"Arse" Hartley when the
transfer window opens. According to today's Sun, "struggling
Saints" will sell Alan Main and
Hartley if they are "out of
the promotion race by January" (even we're not that bad). The
paper says that Hartley would have
gone to the Pars last summer but they didn't want to meet Saints £75,000
asking price.
November 20th - Still no hint of
a change in management. Stark is looking
ahead to Saturday's trip to Dingwall with a stronger squad as the Plague
starts to clear from McD. There are still some injury worries though as
the manager said, "It is maybe a bit early to say we are
definitely clear of the bug, but it certainly looks more encouraging now.
Marc McCulloch, Darren Dods and Kevin Cuthbert have all resumed training.
John Robertson caught the bug last week and, although he has recovered
from that, he is still not training due to a broken toe. Paddy Connolly is
also still suffering with a groin injury, but it is probably too early to
say whether either he or John will be involved this weekend."
November
19th - The U-21s picked up a 2-0 win at Dunfermline last night with
goals from Tommy and
Emmanuel Panther both coming from
Martin Fotheringham(right) free kicks.
Jim Weir played in defence and
Tommy was up front for the 90 minutes.
No change behind the scenes yet and today's press has seen chairman
Geoff Brown(right) publicly back
Stark with the players taking the blame
from him (erm that'll be the players the current manager brought in
then?). He said, "I would never say there is no threat to anyone’s
position-and I mean anyone’s. But Billy Stark puts in an incredible
amount of work on behalf of St Johnstone and how can I complain about a
guy who is giving 60-70 hours a week to this club? Changing a manager is
the easy option and it doesn’t always work as we know to our cost.
The people criticising Billy ought to remember that when we brought in
Paul Sturrock he took us down and it was three years before we came back
up again. People can shout for the manager’s head but look around and
ask yourself who would be better if push came to shove? At the end of the
day it comes down to players because they are the ones out on the pitch,
not the manager. Billy Stark has protected his players in every way
possible and done everything possible to assist them. Now he and the club
needs payback on that."
On the other side though, the chairman also paid tribute to the
ever-dwindling fans that are at least turning up to criticise the manager
in person. "I can only thank those supporters who have been
showing patience with us and ask them for more patience. Without a doubt
players have taken badly to dropping into the first division and there’s
been a settling in period. I believe also that some fans think all we have
to do is turn up and win-forgetting that we are the Rangers of this league
and everyone is up for playing us. When all is said and done the only way
out of this situation is for everyone to do their bit. The players need to
adapt quickly to this league and give a bit more and the false
expectations which our finishing third in the SPL generated within the
support have to be left behind. I have some sympathy for the fans because
our record at McDiarmid Park over the past three years has been a
nightmare but I still have to ask them to give the team as much
encouragement as they can because the only way results will come is if
they get behind the side. And maybe it’s time other people asked
themselves whether they want a club in the city and if they do how they
might help ensure that happens."
Financially
though Brown realises the club is in a
bad way this year. He continued, "Failure to go back up this
season would make it impossible for us to balance the books and that might
well lead to our having to mix part-time and full-time football. Our base
costs are high and aren’t covered by season ticket income. On top of
that you have still to meet the wage bill, remembering we have a number of
players at the club on premier league wages. We are losing a fortune and I
would take whatever action was necessary to ensure St Johnstone’s
survival when the alternative would be there being no St Johnstone. But I
am determined not to end up going down that route and am certainly not
giving up the ghost as far as promotion is concerned. Yes, we have been
very disappointed with a number of results-although not the general
play-this season, but when it is three points for a win, a nine-point gap
isn’t a lot. Remember what happened to Ross County last year. They
were bottom of the league at one stage but went on an 18-game unbeaten run
and wound up third. (unfortunately we're struggling to go on a
1-game unbeaten run these days) That illustrates perfectly how
there’s no way we are out of things, although I accept the games
coming up against County and Falkirk are crucial for us."
As for "under-barrage" Stark.
All he said was "With expectations as high as they are there is a
tendency to over-react when things go wrong and the anxiety that causes
gets through to the players. I accept we haven’t handled the pressure
which is on the club this season as well as we might. But at the same time
it doesn’t help that if we win we are told we should have scored more
goals and if we draw we should have won. We all of us need to remain calm
and remember this is only November." ....well at least he's taken
the blame for something.
And confirmation that "Arse"
Hartley has a 3-match ban thanks to his stupidity. He has taken the
time to ensure his name is still in the papers though with an "apology"
to the fans. "It was a moment of madness. I can only apologise to
the manager, club and supporters because my behaviour probably cost us the
game." . Doesn't wash with me anymore though.And in an extended
interview in the Sun there is an interesting aside where it's
revealed that "Hartley, who'll leave Saints if they don't get
promoted".....nice to see loyalty this early in the season isn't
it.
November 18th - Surprise,
surprise it's Mark Reilly who's in the
papers defending the Saints management after Saturday's shambles. Speaking
to the Retard the midfielder said, "He’s a first
class manager and he’s been excellent with the players. If anything,
give the players stick. I don’t know why they’re continually
shouting at the manager personally. I don’t know what they wanted him
to do today. It’s the players who have to stand up and be counted. He’s
only been in the job for about a year and it takes a lot longer than that
to build a team. The players are 100% behind him. Everybody connected with
the club wants St Johnstone to be top of the league but the story of our
season so far has been dominating games and not winning some of them, and
not playing as well in others. We’ve got to try and do better."
As for the chants being aimed at Stark
the manager would only say, , "It’s something that comes
with the pressure on us to go straight back up. People feel we should be
top of the league and if we’re not we’ll get stick. You have to
be big enough to handle that." . As for any change, the rumour
machine has started. If it's going to happen expect an announcement in the
next couple of days.
November 17th - Surprise,
surprise it was the usual stuff from Billy
Stark after the game last night with the referee,
Hartley (club fine for him which is
fuck all good) and all and sundry getting the blame for the defeat.
November
16th - Expect big changes to the team today as it looks like the
Plague has forced Billy Stark to swtich
things round. Darren Dods(right) is
showing symptoms and already John
Robertson and Marco are out.
Paddy Connolly is also struggling with
a shoulder injury which caused him to be taken off early last week and is
doubtful. The good news though is that Stuart
McCluskey has been passed fit.
Billy Stark said, "Parker
and Dods are still not feeling right but
they managed a wee jog today and we’ll see how they are tomorrow, but
they’re obviously very doubtful. Darren
Dods was feeling a wee bit better today so we’re hoping he’ll
be fit to take his place on the bench tomorrow. club will have situations
in the winter where injury and illness make you call upon your squad, and
tomorrow looks like being one of those days."
The lack of options up front could mean a starting jersey for
Tommy and he said, "I was
happy with how last week went. I was really looking forward to it because
I’ve been in and out with injury so far this season. I was pleased to
get back and to feel fine after the game. I’d worked hard in
pre-season and just missed the first three or four games. Then I got back
in for a few games and was out again. I’ve played a lot of practice
matches this time and I feel ready to come back. I don’t know what
the manager is thinking but hopefully he is going to play 4-3-3 and it
would be nice to play up front. It’s easier for me if I can look both
ways rather than just being on the touchline, and my pace could be an
advantage there." .
7.30pm - A total disaster today with
Paul Hartley's fucking stupidity
resulting in a red card and more than doing his bit to contribute to a
2-0 home defeat to Ayr which leaves us
sitting in 4th as Clyde overtake us. Poor refereeing and a stupid player
doesn't get Billy Stark off the hook
with the home fans calling for the manager's head for the last 20 minutes
Editorial
Time (again). Whilst I don't think Stark
was totally blameless today, there's no doubt that he's lost the backing
of the Saints support (those that bother to still turn up). Just over a
year ago that did for the last manager -whether the board will act as
decisively remains to be seen but I for one will be very surprised to see
him still in the job next weekend. He might have the backing of the
players, and board for that matter but if the fans are calling for his
head then it can't go on. There seems to be nothing left for the manager
to try and he looks like a lost man out of ideas and out of luck/home/
whatever. The board have to take their share of the blame with the signs
there for most of the season that change was required.
Billy please realise that it's not going
to work for you - go now.
Of course Hartley(right) will no
doubt be forgiven and let off with a club fine. But despite all the talent
he's shown for Saints in recent seasons (and admittedly scoring some
spectacular goals), his temper has to be called into question again.
Saints were arguably in with a decent chance of getting a result today
(despite being 1-0 down) when he was sent off. That in my opinion makes it
2 games his temper has cost us in recent seasons (yes we've not forgotten
the Arabs debacle in May 2001). Perhaps it's time to offload such a
liability as well.
November 15th - Plague's hit McD
with 4 players confined to bed due to a puking 'n' shitting bug doing the
rounds. John Robertson,
Darren Dods,
Marco and
Kiegan Parker are all rated doubtful
for tomorrows visit of Ayr. And don't expect Jim
Weir to step up either with the manager saying that , , "Jim
needs a couple of games yet. The day after this week’s under-21 game
was the best his knee has been since he started his comeback.".
November
14th - Some good news today with Chris
Hay(right) signing on until the end of this season. The striker has
hit a real streak since regaining fitness with Saints and his deal, which
was due to end in January has been extended until the summer. He said,
"I'm delighted to be staying with St Johnstone. I've settled in
really well here and I feel comfortable. I'm also scoring goals which is
important and I want to help the Club get promoted back to the Premier
league. I'm grateful to the gaffer for giving me a chance here at Saints
and I'm sure I will repay him with more goals throughout the season.
Promotion is on everyone's minds here and I'm no different. I've been told
there were a couple of other clubs who might have been interested but that
didn't interest me at all; as far as I'm concerned I'm a St Johnstone
player at least until the end of the season.".
Injury-wise, Jim Weir may return along
with Tommy to the starting line-up on
Saturday. Peaso is still another
fortnight away though.
November 12th - The U-21s got a
1-1 draw away to TFOD last night with The
Panther scoring for Saints. Kiegan
proved he's not yet on form by missing a penalty (Blobby Williamson
eat yer heart out!!!). Bad news though is that
Marc McCulloch was taken off injured
in the first half. Tommy Løvenkrands
got another 90 minutes in and the mysterious
Martin Lauchlan was on the bench!!!
Billy Stark today came out to back
Tommy against the boo-boys. He said,
"He's a player that will be an asset to us once he gets back to
playing regularly. The way the game was set up for him at the weekend
wasn't the best because his game is based on confidence and he's still
trying to find it".
November 11th - Well from his
comments today at least we know that Billy
Stark was aware of the mumblings of discontent in the home stands at
the weekend. Speaking of the Arbroath game, the manager said, "We
made things difficult for ourselves by not getting the second goal we
needed to be able to relax and play. We can perform better than that, but
at least we created a lot of chances and fully deserved to win. The
reaction of the fans doesn’t annoy me, although that sort of thing
does create anxiety among players. The supporters turned up thinking that
because we’d been the better team over two games with Livingston, we’d
win this one easily and getting the early goal just added to that. But
Arbroath are a very difficult team to play against. They are aggressive,
tenacious and get stuck into you." . Arbroath manager John
Brownlie meanwhile has all but called us cheats after the sending-off of
Murray McDowell at the weekend.
Meanwhile, Tommy Løvenkrands,
who returned to the team for the first time in ages at the weekend,
reckons the boo-boys will never be silenced. He said, "I was
happy with my performance - maybe I should have done more, but I was happy
to be back and I think I played well when I came on. There was some booing
when I was on but that's just how supporters are. I'll do my best every
time I'm on the park. If the supporters aren't happy with that then I'll
just have to try harder. I want to prove that I can do a job at St.
Johnstone but there will always be unhappy people. I'm just back after
injury and in need of match practice. I hope I am going to get more goals.
I'm happy here but this year has been hard because I missed pre-season and
three or four games after it. Then I played just five games before I was
out again and that's frustrating. But now I just want to stay fit for the
rest of the season."
November
9th - Alan Main(right) says any
talk about a move to the Death Star is just speculation and he's not
letting it interfere with his preparations for today's game against
Arbroath. He said,"As far as I’m concerned it’s just
total speculation. There’s no question that if that sort of move came
off it would be fantastic for me in the current climate, because let’s
face it, at the end of the season I could find myself unemployed. But
there are a number of players in our team they could be coming to watch,
and I also don’t imagine I’ll be the only goalkeeper out of
contract in the summer, either. I just want to go out and play well for St
Johnstone. They’ve been very good to me, they’ve looked after me
and I’m enjoying it here. I’ve been out for a long time but I
now feel I’m playing as well as I have in the past. It’s very
frustrating when you’ve been out for a long time and you’re
making mistakes and now I feel as if I’m over that and I just want to
go out and play. Over the last three weeks, everything has started to come
together again and I’m getting my old sharpness back. I’ve been
disappointed with my kicking but that’s come good in the last couple
of games. Arbroath will make it hard for us, like most teams who come
here. It’s a good, big pitch and I’m sure they’ll be
looking forward to coming here. We had a good win at Gayfield earlier in
the season, but we’ll not be taking them lightly. There are no easy
games, as Alloa proved last week. We started well but they came back at
us. Hopefully, we can get an early goal to settle us and we’ll take
it from there."
Billy Stark though hopes that recent
form can ensure we get all three points (with anything less almost certain
to re-shooglise his jacket peg). "They’re a close-knit unit
who fight hard for each other. We recognise that, but at the same time we
have to take confidence from recent results and performances. At long
last, in Chris Hay, we have a St Johnstone
player featuring in the goalscoring charts, so that takes the pressure off
some of the others and I would expect them to pitch in with a few goals as
well now."
7.00pm - An injury time goal from Paul
Hartley spared the manager's blushes (and possibly saved his career)
as Saints beat Arbroath 2-0 after the
Lichties were reduced to 10 men and Chris Hay
had opened the scoring in 90 seconds. Whilst Saints dominated the
intervening time it's safe to say that the 2nd goal prevented the boos as
the players left the park. Elsewhere in the league the other top teams all
won convincingly so no change there.
November
8th - Paddy Connolly looks like
missing out tomorrow - his thigh strain was aggravated on Tuesday night
and he's not managed to train since. John
Robertson's "foot injury" has turned out to be a
broken toe although he's not yet ruled out. The goof news is that
Stuart McCluskey has a decent chance
of making tomorrow's Arbroath game. Billy
Stark said, "It’s one of those cases that leaves me to
decide whether to push it or not, but we’ll see."
Elsewhere on the treatment table, both Jim
Weir and Peaso are definitely
out but Tommy Løvenkrands(right)
has managed to train this week and could make a return.
Meanwhile the e-Retard are sticking to their guns over the TFOD
interest in Alan Main with tales of our
relegation last season being blamed on his absence (I thought it was more
to do with the other end of the park meself) and a random quote from
Billy Stark who has apparently said,
"Alan's the best in the division and as Scottish goalkeepers go,
he's still up there with the very best. He is a huge influence in the
dressing room and is a key player in our efforts to win the title and get
back to the SPL." - whether or not he said that yesterday in
relation to a question / story about the keeper moving to the Death Star
remains to be clarified.
Off the park and the trial of the 2 Saints fans accused of racially
abusing Sellik player MoMo Sylla started
in chaos yesterday when Momo decided to throw a tantrum and demonstrate
his stroppiness in court, refusing to answer prosecution questions cos
they were "silly" (cue Monty Pythonesque images).
Meanwhile witnesses confirmed that they'd seen the former Saints player
making "gestures" towards the home fans before the
alleged abuse took place. That noise you hear will be his halo crashing
then?
November 7th - With the transfer
window due to reopen in less than 2 months, the latest rumour is that Partick
Thistle are eyeing up Paul Hartley
for a mid-season move. It's unlikely Saints would be that difficult to
deal with given that his contract expires next summer anyway (and he's one
of those tipped to be leaving). We've adequate cover in midfield and
recent performances suggest JR isn't
as indispensible as we all originally thought.
And on a related theme Alan Main is
reported in today's Retard as interesting TFOD with the Ibrox
bigots having watched him 5 times recently. Another out of contract in the
summer it's difficult to see Saints standing in his way.
Billy Stark meanwhile is still looking
at the positives from the CIS Cup performances. He said, "I think
it was more than just holding them. In the first half on Tuesday
particularly, we dominated and controlled the game and did some good
passing movements and Alan Main had no saves to make. Following on from
last week’s 80 minutes, we deserved to be in front but the first goal
was always going to be crucial and I thought we deserved the break they
got at the time. It was a real lucky break they got because it was a big
deflection. After that they were experienced enough and defended well and
had the ability to hit us on the counter. When you look at the two games
though, it is all positives, although I would have rather played badly and
got through to the next round of the competition."
November
6th - Billy Stark has been
praising Saints performance last night. He said, "I am
disappointed not to go through. I don't think we deserved to lose the
match. We dominated and were the better side for long spells." -
a fact apparently lost on the media who have decided to slag off the
entertainment on show last night as another dull game.
Some good news for Saints was Jim Weir and
Tommy Løvenkrands getting
another 90 minutes in yesterday in Saints away Reserve League (East) 4-1
win against Raith Rovers. The goals came from
Martin Lauchlan(right) (remember
him?), Davie Dodds,
Emmanuel Panther and
Martin Maher.
It's not all good news on the injury front though with
Stuart McCluskey still doubtful for
the Arbroath match this Saturday. And Peaso
missed out yesterday due to his persistent groin injury - the club are now
set to send the striker for a scan. From last night
John Robertson came through ok but
Paddy Connolly was still receiving
treatment for his groin injury today.
November
5th - Well it doesn't look like the injury situation is getting any
better ahead of tonight's rematch. Stuart
McCluskey is still suffering from a groin injury and is likely to
miss out whilst Paddy Connolly(thigh
strain) and John Robertson (foot
injury) will both also be assessed pre-match. Billy
Stark said, "We’ll take a close look at all three and
decide whether they play"
Ryan McCann(right) meanwhile believes
tonight's game is the highlight of his career so far. "This will
be the biggest game of my career. I played for Celtic against Dundee
United at Parkhead in front of 60,000, but the league had already been won
by then. I also played in Tony Adams’ testimonial match before around
40,000 at Highbury. The Livingston match is for real though and, if
selected, it will be my most important. It’s a good chance to get to
a cup quarter-final against Dundee United, which would be a local derby
for our fans. We want to show other SPL clubs that we deserve to be back
amongst them. I’m convinced we would have won had the game continued
seven days ago, but we’ll just have to do it again."
"It was disappointing to sit out a few games-no player wants to
be on the bench. But there’s a lot of competition for places at St
Johnstone. I knew when I came here that just because I played for Celtic I
wasn’t guaranteed a starting place every week. I feel that I’ve
done OK so far, but I want more than that for St Johnstone. I want to be
great."
Billy Stark expects a tougher game. "It
was 12 minutes on my watch before they got into our penalty box and I don’t
expect that to happen again. They’ll know now that they’ll be in
a game tomorrow night. Livingston will do better I feel. We took a lot of
positives from the last match and it’s all to play for again. We have
to try and reproduce that sort of performance. Things don’t always go
to plan, but the least we can do is give it everything we’ve got and
try to get into the quarter-final. Ryan suffered as much as anybody
confidence-wise during our wee bad spell and he’s only a boy in terms
of first-team football. I expected him to take up the challenge on
Saturday, which he did. It was great to see Paddy Connolly get his goal as
well. It looked like a simple finish, but Paddy made a lot of ground to
get to the back post to be in the position to score. And Chris Hay’s
goal ratio will stand comparison with anyone in the division just now."
11.30pm - Saints put on a good performance but in the end a Handball
Dadi soft goal saw us lose 1-0 to the
Ferranti Works XI. Of course an unbiased ref might have helped had
he sent off Xausa in the 1st half for raising his hands and spotted the
Livvy handball in their box in the 2nd half. Still no real complaints
(unlike the pair of whingeing moaners behind me all night - sometimes you
just wish these folk would follow someone else).
November 4th - Nothing much to
report in the papers today with the 1st Division getting it's usual
blanking by the media. A quick check shows Ferranti have no new injuries
from their game against the Pars though so expect both teams to line up
along the same way tomorrow night.
November
3rd - Paddy Connolly(right) is
a striker who is a happy man this morning after finally putting to rest
the "van Vossen" jokes from a fortnight ago. Speaking after
yesterday's game he said, "I was delighted to get the goal
especially as I gave the penalty away. It was a relief for me. It has been
difficult because of that miss against St Mirren but you just have to get
on with it. We've not had a great record here and we obviously didn't want
to lose any ground on the two teams above us. So at the end of the day the
result is more important than me getting a goal. Even in the St Mirren
game when I missed that chance we still went on to get the points. So I
suppose it could have been worse."
Billy Stark, fresh from his comments in
the Sun where he called some of the criticism against him as "pathetic"
said, "I'm delighted for Paddy because everyone saw that miss. He
doesn't really let these things get to him but I'm sure this goal will be
good for his confidence. He did well for us in the cup against Livingston
during the week and worked really hard and that is what we're looking for."
. Speaking of the match he said, "My players fought for
everything and deserved the win. But Alloa got a break with that penalty.
It is one of the softest you'll ever see. I told the players at half-time
just to keep their head and sure enough we got the early second-half goal.
After that we went on to play well and create a lot of chances."
November 2nd - Today's game
definitely goes ahead despite heavy rain in Alloa over the last 24 hours.
No more news on the team selection so Stuart
McCluskey could still miss out. Jim Weir
and Tommy Løvenkrands are likely
to play in a reserve game next week as well so don't expect to see them at
Recreation Park.
7pm - Well it wasn't all brilliant but another 4-3-3 formation and
some good goals saw Saints win 3-1 at Alloa
with 2 from Chris Hay sandwiching the
miraculous sight of a Paddy Connolly
goal in front of a large travelling support. ICT and Clyde won as well but
the Weans dropped a couple of points at Palmerston so not a bad day
overall.
November
1st - Stuart McCluskey(right)
is still suffering from the groin strain which led to his substitution
against Meadowbank on Tuesday. The big defender is doubtful for the trip
to Alloa tomorrow. Billy Stark said,
"Stuart is still suffering a wee bit with a groin injury but we
have not ruled him out for Saturday yet. This season he has been a good
player for us and hopefully he will be okay ".
Mark Reilly is also recovering from his
stomach bug. The manager went on, "Mark was taken ill during
Saturday’s game at Inverness and he was still not 100% on Tuesday
night. However, he has now started eating a bit more normally and
hopefully he will be fine."
The only other changes could be a possible return to the team for
Jim Weir and Tommy
Løvenkrands who both played in Monday's U-21 game.
Top Of News
October
October 30th -
Billy Stark had no complaints with the
referee's decision to call off the CIS match. He said, "We could
have been looking at extra time and it wasn’t going to get any
better. It was disappointing because I felt we played really well."
Meanwhile Saints have announced that admission to the rematch next
Tuesday will be £10 for adults and free for kids. The winners will
play the Arabs in the quarter-final with Wednesday November 13th
pencilled in as the date for that fixture.
October
29th -Tonight's performanc in the CIS Cup against an on-form Livvy
side could determine whether or not Billy
Stark and Billy Kirkwood's have a
future with Saints. Even today's Courier match preview is
commenting on the supporter's lack of faith in the current management.
Billy Stark says he's not going to hide
from the flak though, "We’ve had a wee bad spell in terms of
results, and criticism goes with the job. Until we’re top of the
league, I’ll be getting criticism and I’m not going to hide. The
nature of the division is becoming clear now, with games such as Falkirk’s
at St Mirren on Saturday, and our last four games is probably as tough a
spell as you’ll get. We should have done better in it, but we’ve
got to try and not feel sorry for ourselves and pick ourselves up. The
league is the most important thing by a million miles but we’re going
into this game with the chance to get into the quarter-final of a national
cup competition and that’s a great incentive. We have to look at it
that way."
Other than the usual injury list, Mark
Reilly has been suffering from a bug and will have a fitness test
today.
Last night saw the U-21s get a win over Motherwell with
Mark Ferry(right) scoring the only goal
late on. Better news was that both Cap'n Jim
and Tommy Løvenkrands played for
the full 90 minutes.
11.30pm - A fairly good performance but a game which with the
score at 0-0 was abandoned due to fog
with 12 minutes and extra-time remaining. No real complaints given the
lack of visibility from the stands and the whole shebang will take place
next Tuesday at 7.45pm with the winners facing the Arabs at home in the
quarter-final
October 27th - Yesterday's
defeat seems to have killed off our title hopes with the media apparently
writing Saints off last night. They're not alone with the majority of
comments on the net and match reports showing that the performance
yesterday was more of the usual Saints performance - unable to score,
losing stupid goals and lacking in passion, fight or tactics. The calls to
the phone-in programmes have started and reports from some of the Saints
fans that made the trip north yesterday hint that the away support
(usually the most loyal of Saintees) are also calling for a change in
management.
5.30pm - Billy Stark was on Scotsport
today and didn't look worried about our performance, coming out with the
gem of a quote that "All our performances have been good so far".
You might think so Stark, but the majority of fans beg to differ.
October
26th - Chris Hay is a doubt for
today's game but only due to his attendance at a funeral on the west coast
this morning meaning he might not make it to the Caley Thistle ground in
time. The manager said, "It’s going to be tight for him
getting up there in time. He’s going to get to Inverness as early as
he can and we’ll take it from there. It’s one of these things
that you can’t do anything about, it can’t be legislated for.
You have to plan for every circumstance and I know what I’ll do if
Chris doesn’t make it in time. We’ll be positive about whoever
comes in. We’re OK otherwise. Stuart McCluskey and Ian Maxwell are
feeling knocks a wee bit, but they’ll both be fine."
John Robertson(right) meanwhile is
expecting a tough game. He said, "Inverness are a team who are
very capable of scoring goals. They got six just last week. They’re
very attack minded and they like to pass the ball about. This will be a
very difficult game for us. I don’t think having to play Celtic in
midweek will make any difference to them. They’ve done really well
and they’re flying at the moment. The lads have as high expectations
for ourselves as the supporters do. On the other hand, there are games
where you just have to grind out a result, like when Inverness came here
earlier in the season. Sometimes that’s what it takes."
5pm - Chris Hay got a late penalty
but it wasn't enough as Saints lost 2-1 to
Caley Thisle leaving us 8 points off the pace and killing off any
hope that last week's win was the start of a run of form.
October 25th - First up, it
looks like work means I'll miss out on the trip to Inverness tomorrow, so
don't expect the usual totally unbiased objective reporting.
Looking ahead to the game and Paddy
Connolly is in the papers today going on about that miss
last weekend. He said, "I am running out of excuses now but it
was just one of these things. Even my boy Darrell has been slagging me and
calling me van Vossen! Darrell plays for a local boys' club and says he
has not missed any sitters. I have never felt so low after a game I've
won. I never even watched it on television - I just couldn't. When John
Robertson pulled the ball across to me I had actually got into position
before the ball came and I just saw the whole goal in front of me. My body
was going backwards, so I was off balance when the ball came in and I
just mis-hit it with my shin and foot and it ballooned into the air."
.......just dont do it again Paddy.
Whether or not he'll get the chance to try another miss over the 90
minutes or will settle for some last-minute entertainment looks like
depending on whether or not Chris Hay,
sorry "ex-Sellik hitman Chris Hay"
(for the benefit of the Retard / Sun journalists reading this) has fully
recovered from his dead leg. Cap'n Jim is
another who has been mentioned as a possible starter tomorrow although
that looks unlikely given his lack of match fitness.
October 24th -
Chris Hay has managed to train and looks
like being fit for Saturday's trek to Inverness although it's unlikely he
would have made the Livvy game. The cup-tie has been rescheduled for next
Tuesday and Tayside Police have given the go-ahead which should ensure it
takes place despite the possible fireman's strike. Saints are also set to
play Motherwell in the U-21 league at McD on the Monday night.
Billy Stark said, "We did think
we might have to move the under 21s but our groundsman, Jimmy Hogg, is
happy to leave things as they are".
10pm - The draw for the CIS Cup Quarter Final was made tonight.
Assuming Saints beat Meadowbank next Tuesday, we'll be at home to the
winners of the Airdrie Utd v Arabs tie - leaving a chance for possible
revenge for last seasons defeat to the Tannalice folk. Tie to be played on
the 5/6/7th of November.
October 23rd - Despite both
clubs agreeing to reschedule last night's postponed CIS match to next
Tuesday, there is a real danger the game won't be able to go ahead thanks
to the forthcoming fireman's strike according to an SFL spokesman. The
club also revealed that whilst the pitch was just playable at 2pm
yesterday, the forecast meant no let up in the rain so the game was
immediately called off.
October
22nd - Despite recent form, Saints are still underdogs tonight
against "Ambitious" Meadowbank and Billy
Stark enjoys the role. Talking us up with the usual confident air,
he said, "It’s almost like an Old Firm situation for us in
the league, where we’re expected to win every game. We’ve always
been the favourites going into matches. This won’t be the type of
game where you’d say the Premier league team will definitely win, but
I certainly don’t think you can make us favourites for this one. I’m
not trying to be clever or to use some sort of psychology, but Livingston
are an established Premierleague team who played in Europe and are coming
off the back of a great comeback win against Dundee United on Saturday, so
they’ll be bouncing. They’ve improved their squad from the one
which finished third in the SPL last season, so the facts speak for
themselves really. Hopefully it will prove to be a close game but we’ve
got the opportunity to enjoy being the underdogs. We’re certainly
going to try and take advantage of it. This is a game the players will be
looking forward to and we’re going to try to make it a difficult
night for Livingston."
Chris Hay(right) is still struggling to
recover from his dead leg but if he makes it will definitely start up
front with Kiegan Parker. The manager
said, "Sometimes there’s a wee bit of luck in forming a
partnership where you get a bit of chemistry between two players. You can
get two players who you might not think would click together, but do.
There wasn’t a lot of interplay between them on Saturday-I don’t
think you get that nowadays between forwards anyway-but they’ve both
played well and Chris carried his injury from 20 minutes into the game. It’s
certainly a promising partnership. I also thought that John Robertson had
his best game, and Ian Maxwell did well too after being touch and go with
an injury beforehand."
5pm - The Livvy game was postponed after a pitch inspection at 2pm
due to a waterlogged McD. The game's been rescheduled for Tuesday 29th
October.
October 20th -
Billy Stark, was, like most Saints fans,
a bit of a happy man last night. Speaking after the win he said, "I'm
delighted with the result and the way we played. If you take note of the
nature of the opposition and the nature of the game, it was a great
performance. St Mirren are a good team and they'll cause problems for
everyone. We had the Clyde game and after that bad result, people forgot
the way we'd been playing up until then. We've said consistently that we
just needed to start scoring. We had two good chances in the first ten
minutes - Hay had a good chance where we might have expected him to score
- but we kept at it against difficult opposition. We knew we would have to
defend well, but that's 3 goals we've conceded in ten matches. Hopefully
now we can start to build up some momentum. "
October
19th - Mark Reilly(right) has
come out fighting in defence of the Saints management in what he calls
"way over the top criticism". Speaking ahead of today's
game he said, "Our preparation from the start of the season has
been excellent. Training’s been great and it’s always been
geared towards the match on the Saturday. The manager and Billy Kirkwood
can’t do any more, to be fair. This week again we’ve been
working on crossing and finishing. Training’s been first class. It’s
down to the players now. Unfortunately criticism is part and parcel of
football. Personally I feel the criticism has been way over the top. Up
until the Clyde game we’d lost only one game in the whole season, and
that was in the last minute. We’ve dominated most of the games we’ve
played and we’ve probably deserved to win more than we have. We’ve
got to live with the criticism, though. As a player you have to be strong
enough to take it. It comes at every club. The players are determined to
get a result against St Mirren for everybody connected with the club. It’s
important that we pick ourselves up again, and hopefully we’ll do
that today." . Let's hope so but only 2 points from the last 12
kind of tells it's own story.
Billy Stark has been reflecting on our
last performance against the fake Saints. He said, "It’s
probably been the only game in which we’ve been satisfied with
everything. Since then, if we’ve drawn, it’s been a case of us
dominating a game which we should have won-and this has turned into
criticism. If we’ve won 1-0, we should have won by more. Love Street
has been the only place where the dressing room’s been really upbeat
after a game. St Mirren are capable of beating anybody on their day, and
this will be a difficult game. Obviously with us losing our last match it
adds to the difficulty of this one. We’ll have to show strength of
character. We obviously need to score to back up the other things that we’re
doing, and I totally accept that. I’m not saying I’ve got a
30-goal-a-season player, but I do believe we’ve got players here who
can score goals. People see it as excuses but, if you look at things
calmly, the only department which has let us down is in front of goal. We
work on that constantly in training and, hopefully, things will turn for
us."
Injury-wise we've got some new ones. Alan
Main suffered from sickness in midweek but should make it. More
worrying though is Ian Maxwell who is
suffering from a calf-strain. But Darren Dods
should step up.
7pm - What a difference a fortnight off makes with Saints easy
2-0 winners over the Paisley fakes.
First-half goals from Paul Hartley and
a cracker from Chris Hay ensuring the
points stayed in Perth. Of course it would have been 3 but sub
Paddy Connolly managed to make the
headlines again with the worst miss of the season.
Finally some good fashion news with the new Saints away shirts appearing
almost unnoticed in the Perth shops this weekend.
October
18th - Billy Stark has reiterated
that there will be changes to the Saints line-up in an effort to get back
on form this weekend. Two-goal hero from the midweek trip to Forfar
Ryan the Rocket (right) could be in
line for a long-awaited chance in the Saints first team. Speaking of the
possibility, he said, "I feel confident after getting a couple of
goals. I'm desperate to get a regular starting jersey and I know if I keep
turning in good performances I have a good chance. There's a lot of
expectation of Saints this year and so far we've not quite lived up to
that. Everyone is under pressure but at the same time we're all confident
of climbing back to the top of the table. On a personal note, I don't mind
where I'm asked to play as long as I start the St Mirren match.".
Another who could be set for a recall is Kiegan
Parker who hit form during the week and could be the player to
finally turn things round.
October 17th -
Cap'n Jim has come through his first 90
minutes of action unscathed after the Forfarshire Cup win. He's set to
play in the U-21s again next week - don't expect him to play against the
Fake Saints this weekend, despite Billy
Stark's reported comments that there will be changes to the side for
Saturday's game in an attempt to get back on track.
October
16th - Cap'n Jim(right) made his
comeback in last night's Forfarshire Cup 3-2 win over Forfar at Station
Park. Mark Ferry got the opener and
Ryan Stevenson numbers two and three
in a tough game. The Saints side was - Cuthbert, Baxter, Forsyth, Panther,
Weir, Darren Dods, Maher, Fotheringham, Parker, Stevenson, and Ferry.
Subs: David Dodds, Briggs, MacDonald, Noon, and Gilpin.
October 15th - Honest the
website isn't shut down it's just that there is sod all happening in
Sainteeland. Jim Weir might make his
return in the Forfarshire cup-tie tonight. Elsewhere,
Tommy Løvenkrands is set to
resume training tomorrow and Peaso
is getting close to a resumption as well.
Billy Stark seems to have finally stuck
his head above the parapet about the Clyde game as well. He said, "The
international weekends are part of the season and you just have to accept
that, but probably it would have been better if we could have got straight
back into it and put right the wrongs of that game. The players did really
well in training today and we’ve just got to bounce back, it’s
as simple as that. We’ve played well enough for a number of weeks but
not scored and it’s eroded confidence. Eventually it caught up with
us against Clyde. We just need to keep working away and hopefully the
breaks will start going for us."
October 12th-
Billy Kirkwood says he's keen to get
Saints back playing as soon as possible (aren't we all) after the shambles
that was Clyde. "Obviously, it would have been nice to have
played again relatively soon in order to try to make amends for that last
performance. Unfortunately, football doesn’t work like that these
days, what with international fixtures and suchlike, and we’ll just
have to accept the situation as it is. On the plus side the players get a
chance to recharge their batteries and get over any niggling injuries. We
have St Mirren here next Saturday and the players are going to have to
roll up their sleeves for that one as three points are an absolute
necessity. We have a Forfarshire Cup tie with Forfar at Station Park on
Tuesday night, and the good news is that skipper
Jim Weir should participate in part of
that game. He’s been training and showing no reaction to his knee
problem. That game will probably feature fringe players in the main".
Still nice to see the club realise that the 3 points are a necessity now.
October 10th- If anyone thought
that a break from the first team would see an end to the depressing stuff
on the park then they were proved wrong last night as Saints U18s were
knocked out of the BP Youth Cup in their first round tie at Montrose,
thanks to a 40-yarder 15 minutes from time giving the Links Park kids a
1-0 win.
Still if you want a minor piece of good news, skipper
Jim Weir finally resumed full training
this week. He's well short of match practice but is aiming to return to
action in next Tuesday's Forfarshire Cup tie at Station Park.
October
8th- Saints U21s drew 2-2 at McD with Killie last night. Midfielder
Martyn Fotheringham(right) got Saints
first from the penalty spot and then in the final minute
Mark Ferry got the equaliser.
Kiegan Parker was taken off after 20
minutes with a knock though.
Elsewhere in the league Alex Smith was punted from Tannadump yesterday
with Ian McCall / Steve Patterson in the frame for the job kicking off
another Scottish managerial merry-go-round. Whether or not this will
extend to McD remains to be seen.
6.30pm - Nothing much else to report with Falkirk hopefully
looking like imploding with a manager set to head Tannadump-wards.
Billy Stark meanwhile has been speaking
of Saturday's result. "It was a missed opportunity with Falkirk
losing, but my only concern is St. Johnstone. We didn't do enough. We
expect teams to sit back and make life difficult for us. Obviously we're
not scoring enough goals, but the players have to be stronger than they
showed against Clyde. There's a fragility going into games which I can't
understand." . There's little else I can add to that. Comments
about this sort of understanding being part of the manager's bloody job
spring to mind.
October 7th- There's no official
comment from McD yet on the managerial situation (either the vote of
confidence etc) but expect tomorrow's PA to feature several letters going
by comments on the net. Meanwhile it looks like the Bairns might lose Ian
McCall to the Arabs with Alex Smith set to be punted this week and McCall
lined up as his successor.
Alan Main is this week's media voice to
back the strikers to turn things round with the usual comments after the
game on Saturday. Speaking of his performance he said, "Obviously
I was very pleased to get back playing again, but the result was very
disappointing. I did not have a lot to do other than face a penalty, which
I felt I got quite close to. It has been a really difficult year for me
and I did not expect to be out for as long as I was. When you have been
out for a while you start to worry about when you will get back playing
again, but my wife kept me positive and that was very important. I am
still a bit rusty, but I just have to knuckle down and get on with it."
. He then continued to back the strikers saying, "We had a
good opportunity to make up ground on Falkirk today, but it did not really
work out for us. There is a lack of confidence in the team at the moment
as far as goal scoring is concerned, but I have absolutely no doubt that
we will turn it round. Undoubtedly there are goals in this team and I am
sure they will come soon enough." ...the question is though will
it be too late for us to do anything this season?
October 6th- Judging by the
reaction on the net today, Billy Stark
has lost all faith of the support. Whether or not the board will act
remains to be seen. Meanwhile let's hear it for the Sunday Mail
whose match report contained the phrase "A small band of fans
called for Stark to be sacked at the end of the game but it's still too
early for that." - that'll be the manager's media chums then.
October
5th- As well as today's game against Clyde seeing the likely return
of Paul Kane and player/manager
Alan Kernaghan in opposition colours (with
the reception given to the latter a possible indicator to the supporters'
rating of his future managerial potential at McD if things don't go well
by 4.45) it's likely that Alan Main(right)
could return between the sticks. Billy Stark
said, "There's a decision to be made soon on Alan. I've no
complaints whatsoever about the way Kevin Cuthbert is handling himself and
he was brilliant at Falkirk. But a fit Alan would add ingredients that
Kevin doesn't have because of his age. Alan is experienced, he's an
organiser and a talker. Alan and I had always looked at getting him six
games under his belt before we felt he'd be ready to come back in. He's at
that stage now so he's getting closer."
Up front it looks like Paddy Connolly
and Chris Hay will the the striking
partnership with the manager saying, "In a way Chris fills the
gap. He played in three games last week and has concentrated solely on
training this week. Hopefully he will reach another stage against Clyde.".
At least he's looking for an improvement in form after the last few games
have started the doubts being raised amongst the fans. "I'm
looking for a positive reaction following the loss at Falkirk. The
challenge is to bounce back immediately. If we'd got the draw we deserved,
we'd have been feeling pretty good about ourselves, especially as we can
play much better. But we handled ourselves well enough and it's just a
pity the superb travelling support didn't get the chance to celebrate a
good point that we looked like getting."
Acting skipper Stuart McCluskey is
also in no doubt about this game. "This is an important game. We
need to bounce straight back and show everybody the Falkirk result was
just a blip. Clyde will be a hard test, though. They got a great result
against Inverness Caley Thistle last weekend and we’ll need to be on
our guard. We’re not overly worried about being seven points behind
Falkirk. It’s an old cliche but injuries and suspensions will come
into play. We’ll get those, as every other club will, but hopefully
the fact that we’re better covered for players coming in will be to
our benefit."