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I really hope they can do it, and somehow stay up! Would miss the derby games. However, Heats coming up would ensure we don't lose too much money from County's demise. But, if it came to a Sevco v County match for the Premiership, I'd be in Dingwall supporting the Staggies with everything I've got , such is my utter contempt for the Glasgow 'club'! Would be gutted to think that any fellow Highlanders would hope that The Rangers and all that baggage, depressing, self-righteousness and sense of entitlement, 'we-arra-people' etc. that comes with them, would achieve their destiny - 'and we'll enjoy the journey!' at the expense of our neighbours. Anybody who still wants County down and Rangers up need only have 5 minutes on 'Bears Den' Forum! Be careful what you wish for!

.....Harris Foran that is. Modelling the kid/Infant Strips. Sizes 24 to 30 (includes shirt, shorts & socks) now available in store & online. http://ictfc.com/commercial/store?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=828&category_id=6

Scott Burns of Daily Express posted on twitter that Meekings is set to sign a 2 year contract - [courtesy of a mate] Yay!! Now just need Ross, Watkins ... and Raven in that order :)

That's a great draw for us. Raith are no mugs and will be well prepared for the game but notwithstanding that, we should win the game if we play to our strengths. Hopefully we have learnt the lesson from going out to The Rangers in the other cup. Getting to the semi-final would mean a real chance to lift the cup together with the financial benefits for the club. There are incentives all round and there really should be no slip ups. Bring it on!

FT 3-2 Hibs. Lewis Allan hat-trick (12, 46, 75). Ferguson (40) and Brown (80) for us. Hoban C Brown (Rennie) Howarth Horner J.Brown Polworth Maclennan Wilson (Hull) Ferguson Sutherland Baptie Sub n/u Blackett Crowd 110

Missed the draw. Who did C*unty and Aberdeen get?

It seems to me that this is a tipping point for the club. We are where we are (which is punching above our weight), but do we continue to develop and grow as a team and as a club or do we drop back to what might be seen as a natural level for a club with our resources and fan base? It is also a tipping point for the manager. He took over a team that was 2nd in the league and was fortunate to be able to retain almost the entire squad for this season. He has also been fortunate that with the exception of Foran we have been relatively injury free. This is where he starts getting tested. I've said it before and I will no doubt say it again, but with The Rangers, Hearts and Hibs all out of the picture, this season and probably next offers a unique opportunity for success and a European place. Whilst I am all for sound financial management and adopting policies with the long term viability of the club in mind, I do think we should be seizing the unique combination of having a brilliant squad and weakened opposition to achieve something we may never have the opportunity to again. A European place might not of itself bring in money but it would bring kudos and make this a more attractive proposition for future players. It would, of course, be brilliant for the fans. What concerns me is the lack of information and the generally negative vibes coming from the club at this time of great opportunity. When interviewed after the dismal draw against County it was put to Yogi that we have a number of other players who are capable of scoring and that we might might not miss Billy too much. Yogi responded by saying that we certainly will miss him as he's a natural born goal scorer. From that one can assume that he doesn't see Billy's departure as being something that can be fixed from within. That being the case, what efforts were done to replace him? After all, they knew there was a very high chance he would be going. Yogi has previously stated that he would not be bringing anyone in unless he felt they were better than we already have and would strengthen the team. Yet it seems that the only player we know of who was pursued was a 30 year old squad player from Southend. That hardly sounds like a ringing vote of confidence in the players we currently have. Nor does it sound like a professional effort at replacing a player who they almost certainly knew was off. It does, however, seem like an admission that the club thinks we need to bring a striker in. In the interview Yogi also blamed the pitch and said that they would need to make changes to the way we play to cope with the stickier pitches at this time of year. These days, if the pitch is a mud bath the games gets postponed. If the pitch is deemed playable then it is exactly that - playable, and professional footballers trained in crisp passing of a football should be able to pass the ball on a soft surface. What is the point of completely remodelling the playing style if you then abandon it at the business end of the season because the pitches are soft. Soft pitches in a Scottish winter! Whoever would have thought it! He went on to say that we have been good at keeping clean sheets and that we need to keep doing that and nick the odd goal at the other end. That sounds very much like letting other teams come on to us and then punting it up the field for Marley to chase. A bit like what happened against the bottom team in the league on Saturday. The rest of the season sounds like it could be fun! Of course, if you want to keep clean sheets you need to have a good defence. We have that at the moment, but for how long? We know Shinnie is away next season but what of Meekings and Raven? We understand that Meekings wants a one year contract and the club wants a longer one so it should be something that can be sorted out easily enough. But the longer it goes on unresolved then the more likely it is that other more cash rich clubs will offer Josh a longer contract for more money and, much as he may want to stay for other reasons, he'll be off. As for the David Raven situation I have to confess to being baffled. He has been repeatedly quoted as saying he wants to stay but has not been offered a new contract. I find it almost unbelievable that the club would not have offered him a contract but yet to the best of my knowledge they have not refuted what Raven is saying. It really is imperative to get these two players and others who are out of contract at the end of the season signed up as soon as possible. The money we got from Billy should help as should the money we will get from a decent league position. If we can't do that the position will be looking grim. We have just lost arguably our most important player and will lose our acting club captain at the end of the season. Unless contracts get signed soon we could lose 2 more key defenders who actually want to stay here, and possibly others as well. In the meantime, we did not strengthen in the window and we have no word of anyone coming in for the new season. We have also yet to see anyone come in on a loan basis who does anything to strengthen the team. After over a year, we have yet to see any evidence of Yogi being able to attract players to the club who are as good as any of the current first team squad. Obviously I would not expect the club to make public announcements about the detail of contract negotiations or which players may be being chased with a view to summer signings, but I would expect some general information of what is going on. We may get some good news on contract extensions very soon, we may get news that players have been secured on loan or on pre-contract agreements and we might find that the change of tactics is to press the opposition harder and play football in the opponents half (Greg Tansey thunderbolts and Nick Ross nipping in to pick up the pieces - that sort of thing) but the vibes we are getting suggest otherwise. Which way is the club going to tip? Onward to an early season European campaign and a challenge for honours next season, or back next season to a bottom six survival scrap? Come on ICT - it's time to show the fans that the contingency plan involves a drive for the former and not resigning yourselves to the likelihood of the latter. We have a great squad of players at a time when the league is as weak as it has ever been. It is a time of unprecedented opportunity for the club so please, let's seize this opportunity and let's see some evidence of ambition from the club.

Further reports that both Raven and Meekings, while keen to stay, are frustrated by lack of progress in getting deals tied up. Now that the transfer window has come and gone, can we please prioritise getting these vital players secured. It's hard enough getting quality players to come to the Highlands, it would be criminal to let two who are content with life here slip away.