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Was at the game and met various officials of Celtic who all said that we were the best Scottish team they have played at Celtic park this season. TBH if it wasnt for us not playing the whistle I feel sure we could have got at least a point of those lads. Hughes got his tactics spot on. Just a break in concentration lost us the game. The crowd were screaming for the full time whistle and there was an audible groan when the fourth official announced the amount of extra minutes to be played. That was a great display from our lads. In fact one of the Sunday papers that I read had their keeper as man of the match. What does that say ?

I could obviously post this in the SACKED thread...but I hate seeing negative thread titles about managers (in capital letters!) so here goes So we had a bad run in March...but we had a great run in February; when we were unbeaten, why doesn't that count?, if everytime a club has a bad run they sack the manager that would see a couple of changes every season (like Fulham this season in the EPL) Managers have to be allowed to work things through sometimes, getting out of a hole is often more instructive to a manager than a run where nothing goes wrong....sadly this too often isn't allowed to happen (in the EPL especially, yet Norwich and West Ham probably will stay up because they didn't panic and sack the manager) Many posters on here have said that Terry Butcher didn't have a plan B..... given that our entire striking option for the last two seasons has been Billy McKay, and the board haven't provided any alternative, and most SPFL clubs know what to expect. Hughes is trying something different, but getting this to work consistently wont happen overnight The likes of Marley Watkins and Ryan Christie (and Williams to a lesser extent) are being given their chance under Hughes. In additional Aaron Doran seems to be thriving under Hughes stewardship Under Hughes we will surely finish in the top six for a second year running, which I think is a massive achievement. He does seem to have be able to maintain the team spirit. We got to the League Cup final, and in my opinion did very well against the club second in the country (in a great run of form), I think Hughes can take some credit for that All our key players seem to be very keen to extend their contracts, Vincent in particular was a good result along with Draper...the players must have some faith in Yogi? A couple of 0-5 reverses are disappointing, but don't discount the fact we were so close to a Cup Final (does strange things to the mindset of a player), the manager can't do too much if key players who have been playing well all season make a couple of mistakes...it's a long season for a small squad. The same can happen to more fancied teams (Like Arsenal in the EPL, 0-6, 3-6, and a 0-5) We won yesterday so surely everything is alright again....but seriously; stability is a good thing for a club to have, and provided the club do something about getting a decent alternative/additional striker to McKay (preferrably one who is taller, and can also hold the ball up) then I think Hughes should be in charge for next season and we will see what he is capable of. We should only consider a change if there is evidence that 'all the wheels have fallen off the cart', and that Yogi has 'lost' the dressing room There rests the case for the defence, M'lud

Yes ocg just round from the Courier Office

If I feel like a quick nap in the chair I usually find the best time is when the EPL is on

Billy has again been called up for the NI squad.

Must be something I drank

Meekings on 100 appearances. Wow! He sure is meeking progress.

Think I'll have a punt on Richie Foran

...and soon will be terrific

I understand what you're saying RiG, but it may be over-exertion on Billy's part to make sure he gets the final ball. The only person that could answer that is Billy himself. I personally think a short resting period would do him the world of good as he has been so ever present at all levels last season and this season. I don't think dropping him in the U20s is the correct thing either. Billy needs a confidence boost and I think a rest period would give him that.

Without a doubt I fully expect Billy Mckay to score but as I have said many times, he needs a short spell of sitting out of games like he was last Saturday You have to admire him, he was so ever present last season and not forgetting, while the rest of the squad were on Holiday, Billy was on International duty in South America. A lot has been expected of him. The guy looked burntout when I was at the United game a couple weeks ago and he has still been on the International scene. With a deserved rest period, we should see a resurgent Mckay of old - scoring goals!

" his goals came like a tide - but now he's out the side " " the weekly goals we knew - are now so few and few " " he leads the line for 'Caley' - at times he'll dilly-dally " " he leads the line for 'Thistle' - but from his toe, he'll mistle " That's me done!

He's by no means the first striker to go through phases of form and confidence. Remember with Wyness we used to sing "he used to be sh1te but now he's alright"? Maybe for Billy it's "he used to be prolific but now he's horrific!"

Tactically, Hughes nailed this. Putting Tremarco in (who I thought had his best game in an ICT shirt) and putting Shinnie further forward was causing Celtic no end of problems. After about 10 mins, we had one break and ended up with a four on three because of the pace that Watkins, Williams and Shinnie could pass and go at. Sure we had to defend, but again did that well and it's something you would expect to do at Celtic. The goal was avoidable, and apart from that I felt comfortable that we would get out with a draw yesterday. Not to be, but a massively impressive performance.

Because football is a magical sport which is why so many people love it, anything could happen. You cant expect a result cause i mean some people expected us to get destroyed by celtic today but we didn't, some expected us to go massively down hill after TB let us but we haven't.

DD, your post is most disappointing all things considered. If not completely depressing it is not exactly uplifting and inspiring coming from a supposed true follower. Why even bother to mention the negative thoughts you may have when the club is joint top of the division and when you can seek out and highlight the positives? Are you still not happy with the progress recently made since the change of management? When will you ever just come out and just say that J.H is doing a great job, the squad has gelled and the players on the bench are highly trained, probably fit as fiddles and just raring to participate. What on earth more do you expect with such poor crowds and a club with such limited resources? The club seems to have got finances under good control, the team and the Management are all on the same page and the Manager, according to the views of many whiners on here still expressing their reservations , has actually surpassed their expectations. Yet the latter comments are grudgingly given and instead of being definitive and robust they are faint praise indeed. As for J Hughes ---when I listen to him I relish the fact that he rarely ever says anything negative about his players and his comments are more often constructive than anything else and should be an example to all of us. I do think that some of you should adopt a more positive approach to the efforts of all employed by and at the club. He gets along well with others and FITS IN for goodness sake. The club are doing all sorts of things behind the scenes to drum up interest that I never knew about, and maybe some of you guys don't either. But they came to my notice recently and I was both surprised and delighted at the several efforts being made to encourage youngsters to participate in activities that will reflect well on ICT in Inverness and several other dynamic initiatives have also been started and implemented on different levels that are bound to bear fruit as time goes along. What this club and our new Manager needs at this point is absolute support and encouragement from positive actions and comments on all aspects of management. Post # 43, above, by Caley Dawson highlights this exactly. When people work hard, try hard and perform to the best of their ability they deserve praise and encouragement to buoy them up and to allow their internal plans, schemes and initiatives and positive juices to flow unimpeded by worry.