DoofersDad

Playing for a 0-0 draw I imagine

I'm all for beating St J by 4 goals or more so that we we move back into 2nd place and 8 points ahead of County on Friday. If that means County make top 6 then so be it. As long as we are above them at the end of the season I couldn't care where they finish.

Disagree. Over the years Rangers and Celtic have dominated Scottish football and they and their supporters have treated other clubs as training fodder from which to poach the best players. In Rangers case it became apparent that not content to be one of the two biggest clubs with levels of income that the rest of Scottish football could only ever dream of having, they were using all sorts of dubious financial means to further their aims. Now they have been found out and are briefly suffering the consequences in the wilderness of the lower reaches of the league structure. Having been mocked and patronised over the years for supporting my no hope North of Scotland team - my local team - I make absolutely no apologies for taking the opportunity for having a dig or two at Rangers and the discomfort of their fans whilst they languish in the lower divisions. Of course we must celebrate our own success, but the fact that this success comes at a time when Rangers are out of the picture makes it so much sweeter because our success has been built around sound financial management. Contrasting our success with their stuttering rehabilitation illustrates a triumph of honest endeavour over the shady wheeling and dealing of big business and the bully mentality. Don't see anything pathetic in that. In any case. let's not forget the age old custom of the bragging rights of the football fan. We certainly have bragging rights over The Rangers at the moment, so let's make good use of them whilst we can. As sure as night follows day, The Rangers will buy their way back to the top of Scottish football in 3 or 4 years and we will again be subjected to the usual patronising disdain. Don't be such a killjoy - enjoy it whilst you can!

If we beat St Johnstone on Friday and if other results go our way, we could be 8 points clear in 3rd at the split. That would put us a fantasticly strong position for clinching a European place or even 2nd in the SPL. Friday now becomes the most important game of the season and a win would put the pressure on the chasing pack. Getting into the top 6 has been a great achivement but maintaining current form could see the team achieve something very special. Let's hope the fans turn out in numbers and get close to creating the kind of atmosphere there was against County a couple of weeks ago.

Well, there was a game in Edinburgh where the result certainly suited County! Of course, Adams has not got the class to refer to it directly. Had the boot been on the other foot you can be sure that our manager would have acknowledged our neighbours had done us a favour.

I'd like to see them seal the title by virtue of Queens Park dropping points, on the same day that The Rangers themselves suffer an embarrassing defeat to the likes of Montrose. How flat would that be? Not far off what actually happened. A draw away against mighty Montrose and an Elgin penalty at Queens Park giving them the title. It is also good to see that Queen of the South secured the 2nd Division title before Sevco secured the 3rd. Meanwhile, without one half of the OF we have had one of the most, if not the most exciting SPL season ever.

That is not actually confirmed yet. If they lose to Hearts, Kilmarnock beat St Mirren and Dundee, Dundee Utd. beat St Johnstone and Aberdeen, and we lose to St Johnstone then they end up 7th at the split. So depending on results, we could secure them their top six place on Friday. Aberdeen have 41 points, County 45 points. How can they finish 7th or lower? Don't ever doubt me! Because Dundee Utd can leapfrog both Aberdeen and County

This would tend to suggest otherwise. http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/ross-county/218208-derek-adams-happy-at-ross-county-and-plays-down-aberdeen-speculation/

And if he's staying then they are keeping it well under wraps. I am sure there are offers, but he will be hoping that 2 or 3 excellent performances before the end of the season will prompt a better one.

Aaargh, I've got a holiday booked then! Same. Off to the US of A Don't worry - there's always the next round.

Always best to make sure. Given Hibs' recent experience it could have been a foot over the line and still not given. So, yes, it would probably have gone in but I'm not so sure it would have been a goal - after all, most of these big decisions go against us in the derby games.

And when asked at the end of his BBC interview whether he wanted to say anything about the Aberdeen situation he just walked off without a word. Total lack of class. A simple "No" would've been fair enough. "They're looking for a manager with charm and charisma - so that rules me out" would have been more honest.

Has nobody but me noticed that the home grown under-20 players are not perceived as nearly as good as under-20 loanees and signings from English teams? Much more sensible, it seems, in the Butcher mindset, to improve English loanees than to improve our own young players...after all an improved loanee will possibly get an English team more money. when they move on...so we might get more of them to improve.....while we, in the meantime, dunt our own kids with no improvement....or return to our coffers. I think everybody but you has noticed that today we have acheived a top 6 finish for the first time in the club's history. Butcher must be doing something right don't you think?

I thought he was better than most. I haven't seen the highlights yet but my impression was that he called it right both for the penalty and the free kick from which County scored (silly 2 handed push in the back from Doran - I think!). He knew it would be a highly charged game but he kept the game flowing and rather than get the cards out early for a couple of players and potentially ruining the game he made a point of having a word with the players. The result was a hard fought but generally fairly contested game for which I think the players of both sides and the referee can take credit. If there was one thing I would criticise him for it would be for not getting the card out for a couple of County players who went OTT in questioning his decision over the penalty. With that going on he wouldn't have seen what Vigurs was up to.

Dundee Utd have drawn 1- 1 That confirms top six for us. Fantastic acheivement. Well done to Terry and the boys!

Great result. some really pleasing aspects to the game I thought. It was a very disciplined performance. It was a vital derby game but there was no diving in and rash challenges. The team all worked hard and closed down well. The fact that no ICT player was booked is testament to that discipline. Taylor came in in very difficult circumstances and played a blinder. Clearly Terry will have a difficult decision to make when Shinnie is available again. Whilst it was unfortunate the crowd was not bigger, those that were there gave great support. The supporters who sang throughout the game were fantastic and I'm sure contributed as much to the win as the players on the park. It was as good an atmosphere as I can remember for any match at TCS. Well done lads! As for County, I wonder what the end of their run, the falling out between Adams and Brittain and the speculation about Adams heading to Aberdeen will do to their confidence. I'm sure their top six slot is all but assured but they could end up with a bit of a stuttering run to the end of the season after this. Oh, and their supporters! were there actually any at the game or were those cardboard cutouts in the South Stand? Now that we have the longest currently unbeaten run in the SPL, hopefully we can press on with confidence to a European place. A great day all round with the respective post match comments of the 2 managers the icing on the cake.

Just loved Terry's response to Adams' reaction to the penalty. He said "If I'd have lost to a penalty like that, I would probably have been annoyed as well because I would've felt the defenders could've done better." Brilliant!

4 - 1 win for Motherwell over Hibs tonight takes us a further step closer to securing top six. Good performance by team and fans tomorrow and we should be there.

Seeing as you've asked, I'd like him not to do it again.

As it should be. It would be a sad day if others were more concerned about the behaviour of our manager than we are. It is great he's so passionate, but that is not an excuse for poor behaviour.

No, but it breeches the rules about bringing bottles into the stadium.

Success is acheived by understanding how you can fail. The complacency rife on this forum is a dangerous thing. We have won nothing yet. We may be three games away from our greatest achievement yet but we could also be 3 games away from being 9th. I remember the season we got relegated and after having gone on a great run after Butcher's appointment there was a feeling we were safe and sound - and we all know what happened next. A sense of reality is needed to make people appreciate that 100% effort all round is required if this season is not to end up as an average bottom six , no cup final sort of season. Some folk seem to me a bit like the cyclist who raised both hands in salute in the finishing straight only to crash and have the whole bunch overtake him. When you've fallen on your erse, looking upwards is about all you can do.

Very poor example. It is good that he is passionate about the game but he needs to keep it in check. His reaction to a bad decision or a bad mistake by one of the players should reflect how he expects his players to react on the park to the same incidents. Just as an example, last week Villa's young defender Nathan Baker scored a howler of an OG in the crunch relegation match against Reading. Rather than kick the post and swear, Baker's team mate Vlaar came over, put his arm round his shoulder and gave him a few words of encouragement. Baker never put a foot wrong for the rest of the match. I don't know what the specific incident was that caused Terry to lose it but I have certainly seen him lose it before when players make bad mistakes. Players know well enough themselves when they have fouled up and seeing their manager behave like that is hardly going to help in getting their confidence back. Get a grip, Terry!

Alex, if you look at the matches you have identified in your post and then look at the results I have postulated, all 5 clubs can overtake us. There aren't actually many matches between these 5 teams. Dundee Utd play both Aberdeen and St Johnstone and that's it. Kilmarnock and Hibs don't actually play against any of the other teams in that group. Aberdeen would need at least a point out of Dundee United and Dundee United would need to beat St Johnstone. Assuming they all win their games against us and the clubs above and below then they would all overtake us. Can't see it happening mind you but it has been a very unpredictable season. If we can still be 9th at the split, I for one am certainly not counting my chickens about being top 6 yet.

I don't think we are yet in the realms of miracles being needed to thwart us. In fact, it is quite possible that at the split we could be 9th. We have 3 very tough games ahead of us; County are flying whilst Hibs and St Johnstone are fighting hard to gain a top 6 slot as well. So let's say that we lose our next 3 games and remain on 44 points, then let's have a look at what the teams below us need to do to better that. If St J beat us then they can afford to lose to Dundee Utd and still be ahead of us. If Hibs beat us, then they need 2 points from their 2 games against the top 2. Dundee Utd need 6 points which they get by beating Dundee and St J. They can afford to lose against Aberdeen and still be ahead of us. Kilmarnock would need 7 points from matches against County, St M and Dundee. Aberdeen would need 7 points from their matches against Celtic, Hearts and Dundee U. So Mathematically still quite feasible to be 9th at the split so top 6 is certainly not a given. We need a result against County to make things comfortable and to restore pride and confidence. Saturday's game is the most important game of the season so far so let's get behind the team and show them just who the best team in the Highlands is.