I, for one, was glad to hear that John would be retained as manager for next season, and equally glad to hear that many of those supporters who had previously sought his sacking are nevertheless willing to back him now that the decision has been made. I am - dare I say it - even slightly optimistic that performances might improve in the remainder of the season, now that the uncertainty has been lifted. One thing is for certain, though: if we are to make the play-offs, we can do without officials like those on show at Montrose last Saturday. There was obviously plenty to criticise about the players' performance, but surely the worst performance on show was that of the linesman who ruled out Kevin Motion's goal. The website report states that two Stenny players were 'interfereing with play'; I can see no evidence of this on the footage, but in any case, since when has encroaching upon our own free-kick taker been deemed a foul?!
Returning to the subject of John's future, however, I was especially interested in the following quote from the Chairman: '...with the financial backing we feel there has maybe been undue expectations on the management team – not in terms of promotion which is a number one aim of the board, but more around the need to use the finances which maybe does not suit the model John would normally adopt.' This is a crucial point. I wonder if there has been a temptation for John to 'splash out' - especially in the January transfer window - on players for whom - whatever their pedigree - we had no great need at the time. Given that John has always tended to be a defensively-minded coach, I am thinking especially of all the attacking players we've signed recently - Iain Diack, Alan Morgan, Andy Ferguson and Andrew Stirling (though I did enjoy watching the latter's contribution to our third goal on Saturday - scant consolation for a poor performance, but excellent footwork nevertheless). Perhaps it is this temptation to sign attacking players which 'does not suit the model John would normally adopt'?
In any case, full marks to both John and the board for admitting where mistakes have been made, and for attempting to learn from them, rather than just giving up. I, for one, would be delighted if we could get ourselves promoted 'a la Berwick 2007' - i.e. on the back of solid defensive performances. Attractive football is always a nice bonus, but the main thing is winning matches.
Which brings me on to tomorrow's game at Shielfield. I was planning to travel up from London for this game, but a friend of mine is moving abroad this weekend so I'm staying down here to see him off. In any case, this is do-or-die time for the play-offs, and somehow I think we might just sneak it.
