Kingsmills

I agree it's a massive gamble and if it pays off it will have been worth it especially with the increased Setanta money on the horizon. On the other hand if it fails it's surely going to severely hamper our ability to buy our way out of the first division next season.

Butcher pictured with his combined Brentford/Sydney FC fan Club !

Maybe so but he might be a decent assistant.

Hi Batfink... thank you for your comments on this club's managerial appointments. How many managers have Swindon gone through in the past ten years? If that club wasn't riddled with corruption from top to bottom and obsessed with fiddling HM Customs and Excise - they might just get somewhere.... Malpas will do just fine here.... thank you for your concern. To be fair to Batfink, I'm mighty glad that Malpas isn't here as manager in his own right.

Someone will moan on Sunday evening that our victory over Celtic wasn't as emphatic as at should have been !

I can see a dramatic turnaround in our home form now.

I'm not saying that it's wrong to take the financial risk, especially with the new Setanta deal on the horizon, what I am curious about is the source of that funding.

It's a new chapter in the story of ICT and time for all true fans of the club to get behind the new manager and the players.

It strikes me that the club has committed a great deal of money and had pledged to commit even more in our fight to escape relegation. Firstly, without first significantly reducing the wage bill, we brought in four new players at the start of the transfer window all of whom are likely to be at the higher end of our wage scale. Then we have the funding of Brewster's and Malky's compromise packages whether thats done in a lump sum or by way of instalments. Thereafter we bring in a new management team who's combined salary is likely to be higher than that of their predecessors by quite a margin and finally, we have a pledge to provide funding for yet more new faces who, if they are to be any good, are again likely to be at the top end of our salary structure. All in all that must be several hundred thousand pounds of expenditure which wasn't in our budget at the begining of the season. I know that the last set of accounts disclosed money in the bank but the club were already running at a large loss and with gate receipts well down on last season and no transfer income this year I suspect any capital we had would have been exhausted by thr end of December. I can't see that banks wanting to extend the club's overdraft in the current economic climate so I suspect that someone has at least guaranteed the borrowings if not put their hand in their own pocket. Who could that be I wonder ?

Stranger things have happened.

Barcelona, Manchester. I wonder which city will have the "honour" of hosting Rangers next European final. Thank god it's unlikely to be for several decades !

Now is not the time for negativity. The most hopeless (mis)manager in our history is gone and we have a real chance of survival. Whether Butcher was your personal favourite or no it's time to unite behind the new man and the team starting on Sunday.

He's the future of the club. I'd try to get him tied up on a 3 or even 4 year deal right now.

I can still see Robbo managing ICT at some time in the future particularly if we're relegated.

I don't believe that the relegation issue is a two horse race. I can see Hamilton, St Mirren and even Killie being involved at the sharp end of the season. As far as our prospects are concerned, interesting to see that a majority now believe we can escape the drop. Compare that with attitudes just a week ago !

Butcher does have a mixed record and his performance at Brentford together with the attitude towards him of the Brentford fans is a concern. Malpas too does not have a great record as a manager. However the combination of Butcher as manager and Malpas as assistant does seem to have been a success at Motherwell who were very strapped for funds at that time. I'm also very encouraged by what he's said about the job in hand. He certainl;y talks a better game than Brwster ! Whether he would have been our personal choice or not he's now the manager and it's the duty of all true fans to get behind him and the team during the difficult times ahead.

In my view, it's an advatage to ICT, if anything, that Butcher keeps his part time position with Scotland.

Not sure about Butcher he did well enough at Fir Park but all his other managerial positions, particularly the last two, have ended in failure.

I suspect that's it's still little more than speculation as far as the media is concerned.

He's far from the finished article at this level but he does have the potential.

He was far from the last decent coach to part company with that particular regime.

I'm sure that's right. If Hearts had been able to make us a decent offer we would have taken it.

Despite the result it sounds like a very heartening performance.

My preference would be; Knox Robertson Butcher That said, assuming Butcher can devote the lion's share of his time to the club, all are worthwhile candidates.

To be fair, it's quite a thought for those with family uprooting children from school and the like for what might be quite a short tenure although the six figure salary on offer must be some sort of incentive.