PerfICT

United have had a shocker here. The only facts in this case are that (1) United indicated that compensation would never be a barrier to getting their man (2) Tommy Wright was be their first choice (3) John Hughes was their 2nd choice (4) Mixu gets the gig, apparently because they weren't prepared to pay compensation for Hughes (last bit is gossip, rather than fact). He was, at best, 3rd choice. Once you break cover and ask for permission to talk to managers in post, you need to be certain that you're going to get them! Excellent work by the board - first for putting the compensation clause in the contract and second for standing firm on it. I'm not so certain that we've come out of this unscathed, however. Assuming that JH was keen on the United job, he will need a sweetener by way of a contract extension and perhaps some loosening of the purse strings to help retain players and strengthen the squad. I'm sure these negotiations are underway, but rightly, they should be behind closed doors and an announcement made only once there is an outcome.

Well, at least Yogi's not going to Motherwell as they are about to unveil McGee.......or are they? The journos have been given the right runaround over these managerial posts. all guesswork and no fact.

Wow. Still messy then. Apparently Jim Spence has also said that it isn't a done deal yet and that there are still 3 candidates....shambles.

By the way....would love to know the real truth behind all of this: who was actually interviewed? Was JH eventually given permission to speak to United? If so, did they decide on Mixu after or before speaking to Yogi? Did they want Mixu all along or is he 3rd/4th choice? We'll never know....

Brilliant. Can somebody now lock down the "IF Yogi leaves" thread. The OP for this thread was spot-on, though. Time to be pro-active with Yogi and the out-of-contract players that we need to keep, assuming they want to stay. If they don't, then start scouting and identifying targets now, so that we're not in the position that we were a month ago without a recognised striker and poor defensive cover. I know you can't mitigate for every eventuality, but it doesn't take a lot of foresight to see what the risks are and do your level best to prevent them from becoming reality. Stability is a strength.

Storey isn't ours anyway. However, point taken that he could well raid us for the likes of Draper, Williams etc.

oooh, the mystery! Don't think anybody has a Scooby what's going on here. Would love for JH to turn them down to "see how far he can take this right good bunch". Still unsettling - important game on Saturday!

If Yogi's biggest gripe with ICT is not being able to hang on to star players, United is arguably an even worse place to go: Gauld, Mackay-Stephen, Armstrong, Cifci and most likely Souttar in the next window...and all to service a long-standing debt. My guess is that, if he does decide to go, it'll be family reasons first alongside a sense that he's taken ICT as far as he can, given the budget. Let's see what happens today.

Claim on P&B that he has now been given permission to speak to Utd. Who knows what's going on? Unsettling.

cautiously optimistic that an announcement from United on Monday is too soon for a reversal from "contact denied" to a deal being done, but nothing would surprise me....

Agree - hence "stick to guns". JH's feelings are central to this - if he really wants to go, he'll go. If not, he's posturing for a new contract, which he deserves. Ball's in his court...

Excellent! Well done the board! No longer the soft touch that we might have once been seen to be. Assuming they stick to their guns and repel any future approaches from United, I think this is the best outcome for JH and ICT - the grass is almost never greener! Now, get him signed up so he can plan for next season, please!

Latapy?!

All over the papers today that Yogi is the next target for United. If the board want to keep him they have to follow St J's lead and offer him a contract: It's what he's hinted at in the press. If they don't, he'll be gone and we'll face an unsettled spell....just as we were getting our act together on the pitch!

Would/will we do the same??? I doubt it.... Think Kenny Cameron was in Courier last week saying basically the same???? I didn't see that, but I suspect that JH would be given permission to speak to United if an approach was made.

Would/will we do the same??? I doubt it....

Can anyone explain why the running order on Sportscene put the Championship games ahead of 3 Premiership games last night? I should no longer be surprised or irked by the constant pandering to the ugly sisters.....but I am!!! Nor should I still watch such a pants programme...and yet I continue to! Garbage.

Spot-on, RiG!

Now the dust has settled - a quick summary of the game on Saturday. Basically, the game turned on a 10 minute spell before half time. County had a couple of chances (the second one was a sitter for Gardyne), which they missed, while our boys created 3 chances in quick succession and took two of them. The first goal was a thing of beauty! Second half we sat deep and tried to hit on the break without creating anything - although, you felt that at any moment a clean break was going to be on. Storey is indeed excellent, but for me Vincent was our stand-out player. He was everywhere and is undoubtedly the fittest boy in the squad. The away support was fantastic - a great day out...if we can just capitalise on this fine run of form with a win at Kilmarnock, the shadowdwellers may well be back in their rightful place!

Apparently a £200k compensation clause in JH's contract (although reported in the Record, so probably inaccurate). If correct, well done the board! Yogi's problem is that, wherever he goes, it will be impossible to match the success here. He came into a team on the rise with a great team spirit. Any team he goes to at this stage in the season will be failing - a very different proposition. For his and our sake, I hope he rejects any advances!

A tricky one for JH today. I think stick with Tremarco at the back if fully fit and don't mess with holding midfielders Tansey and Draper, who are back at their best. Williams up the left, and Storey up front leaves centre and right attacking midfield between Vincent, Polworth, Sho Silva, Vigurs. Vigurs will surely score and/or get red carded if he plays, so I'd go with him in CAM for 60 min and Vincent right, with Sho Silva on for last half hour. Draper needs to do a job on Irvine! Willie Collum could be busy.

Tickets still on sale through Ross County for away end. Only front two rows left, I think.

I would be surprised if Dundee United and Motherwell were not interested in the holder of Manager of the Year! JH would undoubtedly earn more at United than here, so that might interest him. However, as Butcher learned before him, going from a successful club to a "sleeping giant" on the slide carries considerable risks. I think there are similarities between United and Hibs at that time: A mess in the background and an unhappy squad. I suspect that JH will use this as leverage to get a deal sorted for himself here - it would be a massive risk to go to Tayside.

I'm surprisingly underwhelmed by the draw. Derbies are great and cup derbies even better, but we'll now play County at least 4 times this season, which is too many IMO. Come the day, I'll be up for it, but would have preferred them in the final.

christie's strike......wow! Stunned!