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Some absolute nonsense written about this game and performance by some posters. Up until the second goal, there was nothing in this game and it had been quite entertaining. The second goal for United changed the way the game panned out completely. United had a cushion and we had to take some risks to get back into the game. I have no worries about facing United in the paly offs if it happens as do not think they are a great team and will not always get the breaks from a poor referee yesterday. Some will argue that the referee did not cost us the game but he certainly altered the course of it. How he missed the hand ball for the second goal is unbelievable. He wasn't far from the incident but to not see that was poor poor refereeing. To say that it hit McMullen's shoulder is just adding insult to injury and for the linesman not to see this either was equally as bad. The sending off of Brad was also a joke. Looked to me as if he cautioned him for a dive which if correct is another ridiculous decision. Everyone knows that refs will make mistakes as they have only one opportunity to see an incident but both these incidents were so clear cut, you don't need a TV replay to see the ref was wrong. Generally thought he was poor in other respects as well, White being continually fouled when he jumped for the ball and Nicky Clark never jumped for the ball at all, preferring to jump at or into our defenders while he was on the park but got away with it. In saying all that, we didn't play at our best, especially in midfield. I think a few of our players are out on their feet just now or carrying knocks and they need a rest. I don't agree with those shouting to give the "young" players a chance prior to this game but hope that one or two may get a chance in the next two games. It seems that Austin has become the new whipping boy for the keyboard warriors on this site and the booing/abuse he got yesterday was out of order. There does seem to be a section of our support who always want to pick on certain players and they should take a long hard look at themselves as indeed, should some posters on here whose posts make me wonder why they support ICT at all as they are continuously negative. I appreciate not everything is perfect for ICT just now but some posters need to get a grip and appreciate the level we are at just now and get behind the team, not constantly carp at it. No doubt, I will be accused of being a happy clapper ( and worse) but could give a ***k after reading some of the nonsense spouted by certain posters.

See I just don't understand the logic here with this argument.... The away fans usually consist of on average, say 100-200? Now a good portion of that is youngsters who see it as a day out, go for a few beforehand and are jolly and fired up. I'm all for them and think that they are brilliant at creating an atmosphere, however let's look at Sat or in fact any home game really where at least 1000-1500 people turn up and give their support even though results and performances have been lacklustre. To me that's a good backing. They may not cheer and sing throughout the game but on the whole they give the team a resounding chorus when we either score or create something that deserves a bit of accolade.... Now let's be honest there's been scant examples of either at home this season. Our style of football is what makes the fans stay largely quiet in my opinion, any other team in the league generally when given a chance surge through the middle of the park at pace and this gives their fans a sudden moment to get excited and cheer regardless of end result whereas our style of football means we watch he ball go back and forwards... sideways numerous times, passed around like a training exercise around the box until eventually its either snuffed out or someone fires it well over the stadium roof. So there's never really that sudden element of fast movement to get people excited and I think this is why we go so quiet, people almost go to sleep! They are watching and taking it in, but in a very subdued and docile manner. I've seen it numerous times when we do score after a period of this, that the celebration is somewhat delayed and quiet as if suddenly the home supporters have actually woken up. I definitely think if we played this style of quick attacking football on a regular basis the crowd would be more up for it from the start, however the biggest problem with that is as soon as we try to play that type of game we start losing goals as we switch off at the back!

Well if he can't own up to his mistakes and starts blaming players who have been playing better than him, then yes.

Having read all the posts I can see a wide view span of opinions which is normal. My view is we were not great but their second goal was clear handball and should have been a foul and no goal. That leaves one goal between the teams , but the constant negativity of some fans berating the whole team or certain players is disappointing. We have reached the semi finals of the Scottish Cup, we are in the playoffs 6 games away from a return to The Premiership, Yet some people are spouting rubbish about us not turning up for games and never having a chance of beating Utd and Ayr , we have proved we can do this so why the negativity? We top the away league in The Championship but we have a poorer points total from our home games, Robbo tried to point out this earlier in the season too, but was berated by many on here.as he asked for same support at home as away. The point still stands we need to support our team at home like we do away. thats why I think the guys and girls that go to away games havs a far more balanced view of the team and appreciate the efforts made to get us to where we are, going into the last two games of the campaign. Cmon everyone lets drop the negativity and get behind the team as our support will be crucial in the playoffs.

Putting this out there to all users, not just to the editorial team ...... We are looking for more people to write articles ... be they match previews, match reports or just news and views for next season (and beyond). @tm4tj has been our stalwart on here in that role for many seasons but he is hoping to get a bit more rest and relaxation in his online life as well as his real life. His contribution to this site continues to be immense and where we have struggled to get something in place for some games he has always stepped up to the plate to either write articles himself or cajole and persuade others to do so. If you want the editorial side of things to continue in the same manner then we need more folk to ease that burden on him. It would be great if we could find someone he could mentor that could (eventually) take over in his role of "managing editor" ..... If you are a budding journalist, like to write blogs, or just have an opinion you would like published on a regular basis and it relates to ICT then we have no issues with opening up this platform to you. We recently did just that with the blogging system and now there are a few people whose independent blogs are reproduced on the site in what we hope is a win-win for all. Provided the content will not put the site in any legal jeopardy then there are few editorial constraints outside of using appropriate language and grammar. If you can type a reply to a post on here you can easily use our editorial system. its very straightforward and pointers can be given for any bits that are not clear. We would also really like to encourage some of our younger members - who often say they don't get a voice - to take up the torch as the rest of us are getting a little more 'mature' and set in our ways ... but anyone is welcome to contribute. The more the merrier as they say. I would also say that it doesn't matter if you have had any run-ins with me or the mods at any time. Anyone who knows me knows that unless your behaviour on the site was so egregious that it cant be forgiven I don't hold grudges. (you would not be reading this if you fell into that category). Life is indeed too short for that. If you currently contribute to the site positively then I don't care who you are or what history you have on the site. Its all about the here and now. If you dont feel up to writing articles or match reports then there are a few other areas where we will gladly accept help. The weekly match day routine involves updating tables, posting the POY voting poll, doing the prediction league updates (the other one, not Gringo's one), and entering match details in our stats program. The stats program itself could also do with someone casting an eye over it to keep profiles up to date, to adjust player info when they sign for other clubs etc. We also have a couple of seasons worth of data entry to complete from earlier seasons to get it fully up to date. These are all fairly basic tasks and each one only takes a few minutes, but when one person is doing everything then it all adds up ..... if anyone is willing then let us know and we can provide the relevant information and access to assist. We are also open to new ideas ... so if there is something we don't currently do and you have an idea, or better still, want to try getting something up and running, then let us know. We really do want to the site to continue as it is or improve with new ideas, and provided the income from ads trickles in and pays for (most of) our costs we are happy to continue running it, but we absolutely need some of those who appreciate the resources and information we have provided for the last 25 years to step up and give us a hand ... send me a message or reply below if you are interested. thanks. Scotty

Last 4 of the cup 4th in the league 4th top scorers 4th best defensive record 4th most wins May the fourth be with us for evermore.................

Absolutely spot on the football is boring to watch it is slow and at times mind numbing we are the only team that plays like this and other teams have us sussed as we never change our style of play depending who we are playing the only games that have been exciting this season has been the Derby's why cant we play like that all the time??

Whilst you are basically correct, I do think it is a little harsh. Lets face it, at 10, 15, or 20 most of us would crawl over broken glass to play for our local team and give scant consideration to our retirement plans. In our own eyes we are invincible and we could play forever !!! We also like to think we could be the next Ronaldo, Messi, or <insert name here> who will pull in millions and not have to worry about life after football. Its unlikely to happen for 99.9% of players, but it is the dream. I cant fault any player for trying to get closer to that dream .... Moving to a higher paying club in a higher division is one step on that ladder. You could argue that this is part of his plan to save for the future ... if he stayed at ICT because of loyalty it would be admirable, but could be a foolish decision for his financial future .... Don't think Polly will strike it rich at Motherwell but he will surely pull in more than we are currently paying him and certainly more than we can offer him on a renewed contract in the championship. That's not a criticism of ICT its simply a basic fact. Outside of the biggest teams, I don't think anyone in Scottish football could really be regarded as well paid in football terms. Maybe when compared to normal jobs, but not in football terms. Anyhoo, I wish him well, and as you say I do hope he has his head switched on and invests in his future while he is still earning a decent crust ....

so if the boot was on the other foot and it meant promotion you would prefer "essential honesty" rather than potentially saving this club. not in my book I'm afraid.

what's wrong with offering a 12 month contract with a review after 6 months? we should know by then if he is worth a longer contract.

Open apart from the three defenders between him and McDonald.

After seeing the highlights it makes his outburst all the worse. McDonald had nowhere to pads to without it being picked off by one of the 3 utd defenders around him and Austin reaction is OTT. He was rightly reprimanded by the crowd and hopefully will teach him his attitude and reaction are not acceptable to a upcoming capable player. Time he moves on when contract is up because his performance over the time he has been here has been inconsistent and mediocre at best.

I am hoping that that is a temporary measure pending finding somewhere to live in the Inverness area. Otherwise, it suggests a worrying lack of commitment.

I don't believe a formal contract was ever tabled however I also understand that a broad discussion took place about the fact that any contract would have been a fraction of the current deal and in effect it became clear that this was not a starter

commutes from Edinburgh - sounds hands on

Totally agree with u there pal, Austin is a total waste of a wage now. Needs punted ASAP

With possibly the most important few games in our history on the horizon, is it really helpful to open a thread only designed to criticise one of our own players?

Most seem to have missed the point that we were three or four players short of our first choice. Insert, Ridgers, Donaldson and Tremarco and we will be closer to the mark. Lot of guff on here about us playing rubbish. I thought we were OK given our resources available and Jamie McCart was top player for me. Polworth for the most part looked like he was avoiding injury and could have played for Motherwell yesterday, one good burst forward and shot apart. Donaldson was sorely missed. I would like to see Brad's penalty claim again. I was within 20 yards of this and thought his foot was clipped as he tried to turn. Instead of a penalty he got sent off. Can we beat United again? Of course we can, we tore them a new one in the Cup game. Maybe Robbo got this one just right, like he did prior to the cup game. We have bigger fish to fry. And to the mutant spouting rubbish all game. WTF!

That's the first part of the job done in securing a play off place notwithstanding yesterday's result. We need to negotiate the final two games of the regular season without injury or suspension. These play off matches, potentially six of them, will be the the most important games in our twenty five year history and that includes our two major finals and two European games. The only way we will prevail is if the team, management and fans are all fully focused and fully committed. I understand that the matches will be televised live. Despite that, as many of us as possible need to make the effort to get to as many of the games as we can and to offer full and vocal support from first whistle to last. We really need to avoid another financially disastrous season out of the top flight.

However, by contrast, look how well Livingston have done on lower crowds and less money than we had when we were in the top tier. We have done it before and we are capable of doing it again. First however, we would need to play to our full potential and cut out the damaging defensive errors in the play offs which I am now confident we will be part off. Fans need to play their part too and turn out in greater numbers both home and away. Those who don't often attend away matches, I include myself, would I am sure, have attended the final had we won on Saturday. Instead we can surely go to the away leg of at least one play off match and supplement the normal loyal and vocal away crew. Gain promotion and this 'wish list' thread might actually gain some relevance and that for sale sign alluded to by OCG might just come down. If ever there was a time to back the team it's over the next few weeks.

We are skint only players we will be getting will be on free transfers on about £400-£900 a week contracts. Hence why we are getting players from QOS Dumbarton Alloa etc. Think we should maybe wait till the summer & see what league we are in before we start making wish lists.

Thankyou, Huisdean, for saying what needs to be said.

Word is he commutes from Edinburgh and we put him up in a hotel during the week so no problem with a barber.

Austin's been decent in the two games I've seen him start in recent months (at Falkirk and Ayr). He did a lot of running in those games. No signs of laziness.