Did you enjoy Sunday? I sure did. It was a couple of days ago but I'm still on a high (some wag may argue that's not unusual for a Paisley man). It was a phenomenal result and performance and it makes you wonder why we can't produce that sort of display more often in the league. We got our just reward and now have a League Cup Final to look forward to. However, at the risk of being Johnny Raincloud, that final isn't until the middle of March. We have a long, long way to go until then and we must refocus on the league.
It's something that didn't happen three years ago. In the midst of the nine man Rangers debacle and the 4-0 Celtic victory jubilation it's forgotten we didn't win a single game between the semi-final and the final - which apparently happened in 1987 as well. We simply cannot afford to do the same this time around. We have to get a few more wins on the board to pull us away from the bottom of the table and push us a bit closer to the top six. The cup final should act as motivation rather than be the ultimate goal for the coming weeks - every game between now and then should be scene by the players as their chance to impress and stake a claim for a starting place on the big day.
That starts tomorrow night against Inverness Caley Thistle. It's a game against one of the teams from the Highlands so it's only fair that I have a rant about fixture scheduling - and today you get two for the price of one. First of all an old favourite. Why on earth are Caley Thistle being made to travel down to Paisley for a midweek game? Surely this is the sort of match that should be kept for a weekend? And secondly, why are we even playing them just now? We only played them on Boxing Day - we've only played three league games since then! It's utterly insane, but that's the SPL's fixture computer for you.
Our record against Caley Thistle isn't particularly good of late - and it's even worse at home. We last beat them in Paisley when we were still at Love Street, and that was partly because the fairly ineffectual Craig Brewster was in charge. Since they appointed Terry Butcher we've managed to beat them just once, in Inverness on Boxing Day 2010. It's a dire run against them and one we could do with improving. We came close to beating them on Boxing Day this season and the games between the sides have provided goals, so hopefully we're going to be in for a fun afternoon tomorrow.
Will Danny Lennon stick with the team that started against Celtic on Sunday? Certainly the 4-5-1/4-3-3 worked a treat. It wasn't defensive but it was solid enough at the back while it allowed us to look a threat in attack. The problem may be fitness - several players looked knackered by the end at Hampden and we'd have struggled had the game gone to extra-time. Fortunately, we have plenty of players champing at the bit if we have a few tired legs - Sam Parkin and Jon Robertson were completely missing from the squad while David Barron, Lee Mair, Lewis Guy and Dougie Imrie were only on the bench. It wouldn't be a surprise to see a few of them come into the team to freshen things up a bit.
Lennon played a smart move by starting Esmael Goncalves at the weekend. The big forward was a handful for the Celtic defence and gained instant hero status with his goal. However, he was one of the ones that looked rather tired by the end - understandable considering he hadn't played for a few months - so he may be used as an impact sub. Hopefully he's spent the last few day watching DVDs of Caley Thistle's fullbacks. If he doesn't start expect Guy or Parkin to come in to partner Steven Thompson up front, the big striker taking another step towards legend status with his winner at Hampden. Kenny McLean will probably be missing again, although he's back in training, while Thomas Reilly and Darren McGregor are still missing.
While we had a memorable weekend, Caley Thistle had one to forget. They found themselves in the other semi-final where they faced Hearts and somehow managed to lose, despite taking the lead and being up against 10 men for some time. It'll be interesting to see how they respond - will they feel sorry for themselves or will they come looking to take their anger out on someone? Knowing Terry Butcher it will be the latter, especially with the prospect of fish suppers on the journey home if they win. Butcher has done a stunning job this season and has the side in second in the table. A place in Europe looks on - not bad for a team that has still to finish in the top six in the SPL.
While Caley Thistle aren't a one man team, they wouldn't be anywhere near their current position without the efforts of Billy McKay. He didn't look particularly impressive last season but that has certainly changed lately - although he reverted to his old ways on Saturday by missing a few sitters against Hearts.. Before the break he managed to hit a remarkable 12 goals in seven games, although couldn't find the back of the net when he came up against our makeshift defence just after Christmas. Currently on 20 goals for the season, it wouldn't be a surprise to see someone try to tempt him down south before the transfer window shuts on Thursday. Richie Foran has also been weighing in with the goals after a poor season on that front last year and his experience should help McKay develop even further.
As if having a couple of goalscoring strikers wasn't enough, Caley Thistle also have a fairly prolific midfielder in the shape of Andrew Shinnie. The Scotland cap has 13 goals and is expected to leave when his contract expires in the summer. The former Rangers youngster is likely to be in high demand and you wonder if he'd still be at the club had he not been injured for a large part of last season. Nick Ross, who has come through the ranks at Inverness, is also highly rated and just before the break made his comeback from a dislocated shoulder. Owain Tudur Jones and Ross Draper seem to perform a rather different role in midfield as they like to kick things, while Conor Pepper has popped up with the odd goal during the season.
While one Shinnie may be set to depart, another one is staying put for the foreseeable future. Andrew's brother Graeme signed a new contract just before Christmas that will keep him there until 2015, a good piece of business by the club as he has looked impressive. Josh Meekings also signed a new deal and has been an imposing figure in the heart of defence, while the transfer window has seen Fleetwood Town's Danny Devine move to the club and Charlie Taylor and Jordan Gibbons come in on loan from Leeds and QPR respectively. Gary Warren has also looked decent after stepping up from non-league football in England as has David Raven, who did a job for me in Football Manager during his Liverpool days. After Ryan Esson got injured earlier in the season former Real Madrid youngster Antonio Reguero took over and has done a fine job, his arrival in goal coinciding with Caley Thistle's terrific run.
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