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Just looking at Hamilton's fixtures before New Year: ICT, Celtic (game in hand), Rangers, Celtic, Aberdeen That is a month from hell.......providing we can start the ball rolling with a defeat (for them!) on Saturday.

Apparently Horner, Raven and Mackay could return according to the Inverness Courier. Might mean we could have something resembling a defence if that's the case. Maybe something like this... Fon Williams Raven / Horner Mackay Meekings Tremarco Tansey Draper Mulraney Doran King Doumbouya With our creaky defence I really feel it needs more protection. Sorry but Vigurs doesn't offer that so pop Draper back in there please for a wee bit more cover. Cole doesn't seem to have a cutting edge in the final third but Doran always has a creative eye for a pass. Maybe try him behind Doumbouya? I'd like to see Mulraney get a start as well. he's still very raw but he is so quick he could offer a real threat on the flank. Last week we seemed to insist on cutting inside all the time and jogging across the edge of the Saints box. Get Mulraney in and see if he can hit the byline and get some crosses in.

Playing Vigurs in that deep midfield role is suicidal and if Richie does it again I might cry. Ali Crawford will cause havoc if Vigurs is the one keeping an eye on him. The Courier says McKay and Raven might be available so fingers crossed. McKay has to come in at CB to free Draper up for midfield. If fit I'd rather have Raven at RB than Horner anyday. I'm not averse to Vigurs playing a more advanced midfield role like he did in our League Cup games, but it is critical that we get bodies forward to support Doumbouya. King has done next to nothing for weeks other than lose the ball and fall over, so surely Mulraney should get a shot? He has the pace to get up to Doumbouya quickly too. So my ideal lineup would be OFW - Raven, Meekings, McKay, Tremarco - Draper, Tansey - Doran, Vigurs, Mulraney - Doumbouya

Foran has strained his beard IMO.

We've only beaten them once at home (in the league) in eight attempts..that's a worrying stat'. I don't like stat's.

Never mind who wins and who loses with the other Teams the important thing is that our players have got to perform at a higher level, making and taking chances and closing out the opposition plus a big cut down on stupid fouls.

It never rains but it pours.... Who now

Due to the nature of the league now, the positions of teams does not really matter. One win or loss can catapult you up or down. I believe at the moment with the current number of injuries and suspensions it is time to change the style and dig in, play as a defensive unit and get points, draws are fine (a point doesn't sound like much but it stops the team we are playing gaining on us, an odd ugly win is more than welcome as well. Once we have our full squad back then we can change to a more attacking style. I don't necessarily mean change the players - because we cant really but change to roles of each player in certain circumstances. I fully expect to be bottom by the turn of the year due to our injuries. However as long as we are in striking distance of a pack of 3/4 teams I will not be too bothered and would expect when we have our best 11 fit, we will pick up enough points to climb the league again.

Courier says Mackay, Raven and Horner could be back for the Accies game.

Johnny Hayes scored two goals tonight (6 Dec) in Aberdeen's 5-1 thrashing of Kilmarnock

A win will take us back above Kilmarnock on goal difference if Motherwell beat them on Saturday.

Killie took a doing tonight lost 5-1. A time for togetherness and belief going into Saturdays match.

NO PYRO NO PARTY

Tansey has been taking a lot of stick recently, but I don't really think looked like he lacked commitment on Saturday - he made himself available for the ball (noticably more than some others), tried to take charge of building from the back, made a few runs forward and tracked back better than Vigurs. He didn't always use the ball that well though - there were a few overhit long balls and a couple of times going forward he tried to hang onto it too long, as if to work a better opportunity for himself that wasn't going to come. I'm not sure that's a lack of commitment, but his game might well have been affected by frustration or nerves, especially after we'd lost the first goal. Vigurs is a different matter, but I don't entirely blame him either, in that we knew what we were getting with Vigurs when we signed him. County supporters and Motherwell supporters tended to be divided on him, precisely because, for all his vision and his ability with a dead ball, he simply didn't work hard enough. He never really established himself in the Motherwell first team for that reason. Personally, I wouldn't have him in the first team at all if we had a full-strength squad, and I certainly wouldn't use him in a deep-lying midfield role, where he will regularly be expected to track his opponents, put in decisive tackles and provide defensive cover and reinforcement, except as a very last resort. Saturday probably was that, but Foran has used him in that role for almost the whole season, and it absolutely baffles me. I've said before, probably in this thread, that I think that that tactic is probably more responsible for our dreadful defensive record than Warren's lack of form, and the two may well related to some extent anyway. Until Polworth is fit again, though, we probably don't have any option but to continue with Vigurs in there, but once we have more players available, I hope Foran at least tries going with something and someone else. We can talk about giving Vigurs a rocket to try to get him to work harder, but I'm just not sure he has it within himself.