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Here's my thoughts, for what they're worth. At the back, we need to go with the strongest defence we have - which is, unquestionably, Raven, Warren, Meekings and Shinnie. Warren and Meekings are better players than Devine, and an established partnership too. Frankly, Shinnie is better than Tremarco at everything. Draper must play in centre mid. We badly miss his physical presence, all the more so when Foran is out. I'd much rather have Tansey than Polworth, again because he is a better player. Polworth might yet come good, but when he plays poorly (such as in Perth or in Kilmarnock), we are drastically weakened in an important area of the pitch. If Vincent is fit, then slot him back into his role between midfield and attack, where his workrate and engine have proven to be far more effective for us this season than Nick Ross' attempts to impersonate Andrew Shinnie. On the right, I tend towards Doran rather than Watkins, simply because the Doran-Raven partnership works so well and Doran is never as good when on the left. The downside is, as RiG pointed out, Watkins offers us an effective diagonal because he's good in the air. Maybe we could use Marley on the left, but I don't recall him playing there before and a cup semi final doesn't seem like the best place to experiment. So maybe Ross on the left, where he will cut inside and open up space for Shinnie to attack? But if we went with Williams' pace, then I wouldn't be particularly upset. And up front, Mckay, of course. Who else? So, in conclusion, it should be: Brill, Raven, Warren, Meekings, Shinnie, Draper, Tansey, Doran, Vincent, Ross, Mckay. Subs: Esson, Devine, Tremarco, Watkins, Williams

Rather than compensation being an issue I suspect the board would be more likely to place more emphasise on who they believe would be more likely to remain committed to ICT if they do well and offers from other clubs presented themselves. Our form is erratic at the moment. We just have to keep being "supporters" - the clues in the name. Now let's just support the team. See you all Sunday.

My objective observation on all the posts is that Yogi was the best thing since sliced bread last week when we beat Aberdeen but one week/defeat later it's oh dear time again. One must laugh........

Iona inside or outside - open at 09.00 - although they don't know that yet.

Come on guys - more positivity required! Form is irrelevant for these games - whoever harnesses the nerves/excitement the most effectively will win. It's for occasions like this that we support the team and it's why the game is played! The blood is pumping and life is good!

Dont be so fickle you negativiteers! It isn't Hughes who is missing the chances made, The team is playing well enough to win most times. We are back in the missing chances mode as we were at times under Butcher so I say lay off, get off the manager's back and support the Club's decision. Also don't be so fickle he was a hero last week remember. What happened to togetherNess or were you never part of it ???????????

Some are confusing curiosity with negativity. I hope he does well and wins the title for ICT. I'm also prepared to reserve judgement until the end of the season. Nevertheless...... ...he doesn't have the potential of Hartley. Nor the track record of success of Sturrock or Calderwood. Nor even the history of Robbo. Yes, we can say why they might not have got it but what made Hughes stand out when no-one else could see it? Hartley has no experience. Levein might well have been too expensive etc etc. None of that say 'it's gotta be Yogi'. Comments about his license (especially being a trainer) go towards explaining things. I struggle to believe a fan saying they don't care why the decision was made. It certainly interest me.

I was one of the moaners when Hughes got the job, but its time to give the man a break.

Agree with all above plus he has just got his assistant so for a God sake lighten up and get behind them . All teams have off days and our usual pattern after a bad result we come out all guns blazing... Looking forward to Sun.!!!!

I whizzed through the last few posts lest I get depressed. Naysayers United up and running again? Nothing wrong with expressing your opinion but so many forces come into play in any club between Chairman, players and Manager that how on earth can anyone who is not "in the know" actually know anything about why this manager was hited or not etc.Do you imagine that Mr Cameron and the Board had an easy task deciding on this appointment? C,mon.....! The club needed a manager with experience and J Hughes needed a job so I suspect that both came to common ground and both were reasonably happy with the deal. And, for sure, IMHO, there will be more money on the table for this new manager if we do very well by the end of this season. Give him time. After all. it's the players who win or lose matches, not just the manager.

I am getting increasingly concerned. We have been largely poor since the new manager arrived and the players are becoming less confident. Hearts, on the other hand, seem to be coming onto a bit of form with a good performance and result last week against St Johnstone and an even better one this week against Ross County. Unless we are fully focused and committed we could be in trouble.

The Board wanted someone with experience and got a manager who has experience. He is also older and wiser than the youngsters that are now being allowed to get a chance in the first team. What's the average age of the team? Are they all seasoned professionals who might be by now in their careers also rigid and inflexible in their thinking about how the team should play? No! Our boys need encouragement, to be worked very hard to separate the wheat from the chaffe and to have someone to look up to as a role model who is clean-cut and dresses well, as any Manager of Caley Thistle should do, speaks enthusiastically in a very positive vein about them, the team's future etc. In short, POSITIVITY on all fronts. and I would follow a guy like that. He also represents the club up front to the public and visitors alike and creates a good image in this respect, I am sure, in his role as the club's prime representative. Is the alternative, a person who looks like an scruff, going to impress? This is a very important quality, chums, because the Manager is the senior extension of the Board of Directors and should reflect their values to the outside world. Stability, experience and wisdom are offered by J Hughes who actually is often quite eloquent in his speeches and apparently is a good motivator.So....? God was not available at this time for the job so he sent us a candidate with POTENTIAL who generally met the varied criteria which probably reflected the unanimous views and requirements of the Board Members. So IMHO any reasonable fan would be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt --unless you are a member of Naysayers United when apparently your agenda may be more suited to negative back- biting and destructive comments aimed at undermining the new manager's ability to get the best out of the team and with his demise would come a convenient reason to justify your negativity. David Moyes has experience and by Alex Ferguson's reckoning he was the top choice for the position of Manager of Manchester United in a situation where there were many other excellent managers available to choose from. Yet he has struggled mightily in his new position and, like John Hughes, will need time in order to be successful. Even Ferguson himself needed 5 years to establish himself and is recently on record as condemning the knee-jerk reaction of the current Owners of the teams in the Premier league who fire new Managers at the drop of a hat when immediate glory eludes their grasp. As for Richie-who says he is to be the next Manager? A lot of water will probably have to run under the bridge before he retires and nothing in life is certain. As Rabbie Burns said..."the best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley..". Dead right on that one Rabbie, as I know from my own personal experience. But from bad mistakes big lessons can be learned and that's how we grow in strength and, hopefully, wisdom. Richie, as far as we know, does not at his time have any significant Management experience. So why would he be considered to be the next managerial Messiah, at this stage of his carerer, for our team. He may turn out to be fantastic as a Manager but right now he is just another very good player. So, IMHO, the best bet for ICT at this time is to back John Hughes to the hilt...totally.

Thought this may be of interest - http://ictfc.com/news/club-news/1174-young-presenter-competition

I'm still utterly bamboozled that out of the 42 candidates that applied for the job, Paul Telfer somehow winds up getting interviewed and seemingly finished second for the job, ahead of Hartley, Shiels, Levein and many others! Now here's the thing folks. Richie Foran is 33 and has just signed a three year deal, which will almost certainly be his last. Hughes has a two and a half year and aims to be at this club for five (his words not mine). I'm speculating here, but I wouldn't at all be surprised if Hartley wished to re-shape the club in his own image and likeness, and probably people like Levein would have wanted to do the same - a long term project. The board went for Hughes, as they looked at him as a kind of Terry Butcher MK2, who would keep the club around about this level. When this is done, it leads them to the final piece of the puzzle, which is Richard Foran taking over as manager. Hughes would be nothing more than a stopgap manager, and maybe Telfer wanted to be the same. This is not what Hartley et al would have wanted. It was often said on this forum, prior to his appointment and still to this day, that Hughes is not the man who will or can take this club forward. Maybe that's because, he's not supposed to. One of the most pathetic posts i've read...

This club will NEVER attract top dollar managers because we cant afford to pay top dollar! Be thankful with what we've got and give old Yogi a fekkin chance.

I think some folk are over analysing the reasons for Hughes' appointment, almost to the extent of believing there were ulterior motives etc. Is it not the case that the board made the appointment in all good faith, believing Hughes was the right man for the job? Call me naïve if you will, but that is what I'd like to believe. Maybe they got it wrong, only time will tell.

Starchief I will bite again:- When interviewing you have a criteria that fills your needs, the interviewee who meets or is nearest to those requirements is who you employ. Do you really think that the board should ask the posters on this forum for their opinions first before making the decision ? Rest assured the Board will have thought this through thoroughly and it is up to us now to sit back and give our man plenty of time to prove the Board right in their choice. He may not yet have got consistency of flow going in the Team but that will come and so will the wins. Good start bringing Tansey in and Latapy don't you think?

That's a very poor reason. Hughes the Hibby would make the same move as Butcher. Going up (which I don't see Hibs as being) means success. If Hartley got a move to Manchester United on the basis of winning the league with ICT, that would be a great compliment. Employing someone because they are never going to be great but they might just stay, is a truly awful reason. I'd still really like to know the actual reason for going for Hughes. Not speculation (even if Renegade is quite probably along the right lines) but something tangible from a well connected source. What made the Board choose Hughes over a prospect like Hartley or a seasoned successful manager like, say, Calderwood or maybe Sturrock (and it doesn't really matter if you like them - I could understand why they would be chosen)? I struggle to believe either Hartley (a part-timer) or Calderwood (desperate to get back into it) would have made huge demands. So, just what was it? Oh, to be a fly on the wall.

Don't read this then! As I mentioned elsewhere, based on form since the teams last met, this is a battle between the 2 worst teams in the league - both have just 5 points from their last 7 games. (Although Dundee Utd could actually go bottom of that particular form table if they don't win tonight, which is quite surprising for a team supposedly full of multi-million pound talent.)

I suspect that Hughes will be a failure here as he has largely been elsewhere but, given that he is the man who was appointed for whatever reason, he deserves to be given a chance. At least until the end of next season By that time he will have had the opportunity to prove the doubters wrong. If he does so we will all be delighted to admit we were mistaken if, after a season and a half, we are still moving backwards, it will be time to admit the mistake and move on. In the meantime, as supporters, we should be prepared to put our reservations to one side and give the manager our support. Again, he must have said something different in interview other than the tired platitudes and cliches he trots out in public and the board, who are shrewd businessmen, must have seen something that he is able to project in private that doesn't come over in public otherwise he would never have got the job.

One thing that thing better than Butcher that Hughes does, is substitutes. It's nice to see players coming with less than seconds remaining, but still, there's nothing wrong with making a half time change. It was clear in the 4-0 defeat in Perth and it was just as clear on Saturday, that Polworth was struggling big time. A headless chicken, nothing was coming off and we were lacking bite in the midfield bigtime. Why persevere with him any longer? We had Tansey, Vincent and particularly Draper on the bench, why not put one of them on instead? First half changes are now commonplace in France, while Marcelo Bielsa is known to make two at half-time if things aren't going to plan. If I can tell that a player's struggling after even half an hour, surely Hughes can as well. There's nothing wrong with early changes and keeping struggling players on, such as Polworth on Saturday, will not help them or the team, in any way.

Remember that time people wanted butcher out? Yeh me too. Fannies. Sacking managers gets you nowhere. Managers need time. Butcher got it, yogi will get it.

I do remember the 'is Butcher the man for the job' thread, with someone saying along the lines of 'what if we're marooned at the bottom - best to sack him now'. This is the same with Hughes. I suspect he won't do well but he has to be given the chance to prove us wrong, in the same way Tel did with some. Out of the top six has to mean sacking. But that hasn't happened yet and may not. Give him a chance to fail or succeed. Top six is an absolute must though. We're going completely the wrong direction if we drop out. But let that happen before we judge a failure.

One thing I noted in Hughes' first interview after becoming manager, I recollect him saying words to the effect of "Give the ball to Billy and he'll score". Under Butcher, Mckay was one of an often expansive number of options, but we seem to be trying to get the ball to him by any means necessary, even if that means whacking it at him up against two towering centre-backs. This seems to be a tactic Hughes has implemented from the start, but while I can understand the logic in it, I'm not sure it's really worked out the best for either Mckay or the team as a whole.

You're only saying that coz you're against Mahonio.

You were clearly not at the game. Polworth keeping his place is madness!

No they folded the five pound note twice