mazza20

Is the 20k at the end not a goal bonus instead? Heard it was if he got 20 goals then got another 20k, could be both I suppose

2 years will make it too expensive to sack him at Xmas if we have another mid season meltdown...

Think a real world example would be Leeds and Everton this season. Everton knew they needed to be more defensively solid and went and got Dyche, whereas Leeds changed to Big Sam with 4 games to go and look how that went. I don't get to games much unfortunately, but the few games I've been to last 2 years have been tough to watch, would say we lack that player that could really link the midfield to attack if we want to play the passing game or a proper target man if we want to play route 1

Tbh I don't think there's a better candidate we could realistically get at the moment, if we're going to change manager then the board needs to have plan and then get someone who's style aligns with that. Next season will be worse if we just let him go with the expectation that there's someone better ready to take the job instead of doing any sort of research prior to this point. I'm not thrilled about another season of Dodds but he's now got 2 years working with the squad so knows what he needs in terms of recruitment, and hopefully his match management improves with experience. Luckily next season our bogey team in Hamilton are gone so that could 3 of our league losses turned into points instead

Couldn't see how full the top section of the south stand was so maybe some there?

As everyone else as said, result was better than expected. Had no trouble with the Celtic fans (except for the one that made himself known in our section after the 3rd goal) and was surprised to see my train from Killie was pretty evenly split. 1st half was tough, think the instructions were to stay defensive unless you're confident you're in the clear, noticed anytime Henderson or Duffy got the ball on the right there was a reluctance to either make a run or an overlap. 2nd half was much better as we moved our press up the pitch started getting the ball higher up and made some decent pressure. Agree with Dodds the goals in the 2nd half came at the wrong time for us, but would argue if Celtic didn't get that first before half time then 2nd half would have continued the pattern of the 1st. Wasn't overly happy with the ref, don't think I can say he impacted the result but Billy Mckay was definitely getting manhandled during the 2nd half and never got a call for it.

I would let Dodds have the cup final, think it would potentially put off potential candidates if we did get rid of him. We should be doing some work behind the scenes, identify targets we want etc, gauge interest for the role, and need to have a sit down with Dodds and give him a chance to show why he may be the best candidate. We'll at least know that way if he wants to be here and we should be putting in milestones that he needs to reach if he wants to keep the job. Missing out is good for the cup final, but probably bad long term. We need some major rotation throughout playoffs and rest days if wanted the best possible chance to get through.

Anyone put themselves through the post match interview? Don't agree with most of what Dodds said, it's been another big missed chance instead of a good season. Claimed he wanted to make changes before half time, but thought he'd see if we'd sneak to HT 0-0. To me that's him all over, make changes too late, it's a must win, last game of the season, if it's not working then change it immediately!

First half I would say we were terrified to run at Ayr, players would stop and either cut inside or play it back to defense 2nd half was better as we were willing to run at them, create overlaps and chase down long balls. The issue was floated crosses don't work well with the strikers we have, we need to cut to the byline and drill balls across goal

If we have to do it, can we at least get a target man?

Imagine we could actually beat Hamilton on a regular basis ...

If we snuck into the playoffs then I'd give a year extension with the expectation that if we're not looking like title challengers by Xmas he's gone. To me, he's not shown to be a great tactician (too many we either start poorly or go for route 1 with Billy Mckay up top) or even a good man manager (bust ups with squad morale plummeting in both seasons)

Realistically, who would we get / want? I think it might time for a wholesale change of the backroom staff

Can we add high balls to a striker that isn't know for his aerial prowess to the ICT way?

Tbf we've started strong last 2 seasons and just throw it away at Xmas

Definitely more away days closer for me with us in Championship

I would say the end of the season, Dodds was making subs and changes that swung games (the Killie and some of the playoff games come to mind). I reckon he's learned a lot and if we can get some depth to the squad and a striker we can aim the long balls to, we've got a good chance

Do they have any time restrictions? Initially looked at Tesco but that says 2 hours max

I think Danny Lennon could be a decent option, he has experience rebuilding a squad and I imagine he would be cheaper than Hartley.

Didnt play anything decent until 2-0 down, when we stopped playing so many long balls. No winger down the right meant McKay was constantly out of position with no cover. Too many long balls out to the left which became predictable.