THE supports have their say.
HEARTSA FANTASTIC performance against Dundee United was the perfect way to secure third spot. It was appropriate that Lee Wallace scored the first goal, as he has had an excellent season and must be one of the first names on the
team-sheet. Surely it is only a matter of time before he gets a Scotland call-up.
Great credit must go to the whole squad, but clearly the major factor has been the manager. To say some of the support was underwhelmed by his appointment is an understatement but he has won people over with his enthusiasm and the fighting spirit in the squad.
It remains a cliché, but the league table doesn't lie; we have been the third best team in this season and can look forward to a European adventure, hopefully, with a number of additions to the team.
Broxburn JamboHAMILTON ACCIESNEVER has a home defeat to local rivals been easier to bear. Accies just needed a point to secure their SPL status but it never looked likely and Motherwell scored three simple goals to secure an easy win.
The great news for the hoops was that Kevin Kyle did the business again for Killie and the home crowd moved into party mode for the final minutes of the game. Accies had never retained their SPL membership before so this represents a great achievement for Ronnie MacDonald, Les Gray, Billy Reid and his players and staff.
Of course, there's still doubt about which team will take the drop, and Accies could put St Mirren down if they win well at Paisley while Falkirk defeat Inverness. Billy Reid will definitely be going to try to win the game but that will be tough against a newly motivated Saints.
Gilbert MowatHIBERNIANHOW pleasing it was to hear that Gary Caldwell blamed Hibs for their defensive tactics and potentially ruining Celtic's chances of retaining their league title. There's nothing more satisfying than a greetin' faced Old Firm player and Caldwell fits the bill perfectly, so thanks Gary for cheering us Hibees up!
If there is one thing Mixu seems to have learned, it's how to organise the team into a fairly solid, if unspectacular defensive unit. The points garnered from Hearts and the OF owed little to attacking flair and more to hard work and determination. While it was great to put both the OF through the mill with these performances, it's not the type of football we want to be watching on a regular basis. A long season ends up at Aberdeen this weekend… roll on 2009/10!
Eddie Hendersonwww.hibs.netDUNDEE UNITEDEXPECTATION can sometimes be the mother of disappointment. United never turned up at Tynecastle and we were out-played, out-thought and well beaten. What a contrast with the team who harried, out-passed and bossed Celtic only a few days previously… the common denominator in both games being that we left with nothing.
All good teams slip up and I think the real United will come out firing on Sunday to finish our season with a deserved Europe berth and, as a bonus, to stop Rangers winning the title on our patch. (Believe me, if there was any way for both the OF to lose the title, I'd happily take that!)
What a brilliant season finale this weekend promises to be… so much to play for, so much to lose. One final thought – ta-ta Mike McCurry, don't rush back. Can we clone Calum Murray?
Hamish Mackintoshwww.dundeeunited-mad.co.ukRANGERSRANGERS face the last league game with their title aspirations in their own hands. We could ask for no more, after two high-tension matches scarred by incompetent assistant referees who managed to get three crucial calls totally wrong – a legitimate goal not awarded at Easter Road, and two daft red cards at Ibrox.
And while Lafferty's play-acting was embarrassing, contrast the sustained witchhunt with a wall of silence after Scott MacDonald's shameless dive in the Hibs penalty box on Sunday. Cheating is cheating, end of. Tannadice is a tough proving ground for a title decider, but as aspiring champions Rangers must approach this game with confidence, respect, and above all burning desire. Our players owe this support big time. As NASA says: "Failure is not an option."
Stephen Smithwww.rangerssupporterstrust.co.ukCELTICIT WAS a pedestrian, predictable, unsurprising Groundhog Day on Sunday. It looked like a pre-season friendly for 80 minutes until the players realised that they had to up the tempo. Nine games on the road in 2009: two wins, two defeats and five draws is an appalling record for a team with the resources of Celtic.
Gordon praised the team for their efforts and for following his instructions. However, having watched Rangers fail to win with those same tactics last week, perhaps the instructions could have been better. And rather than watching war films, Gordon's time might have been better spent watching Setanta last Wednesday.
It was a fine display of passing, but goals win games. Forcing just one save from the Hibs keeper in 90 minutes was lamentable. Hopefully Gordon's film choice was The Great Escape.
David DevineST MIRRENSATURDAY'S performance came from nowhere. There was no indication that we could play like that against Falkirk, but we absolutely destroyed them. From the first minute to the last we were superb and we should have perhaps won by five or six goals.
Everyone gave their all for the cause, and even when we missed chances early on we didn't throw in the towel. Eventually we got the breakthrough and after that there was no looking back. We didn't sit on our lead; we kept attacking and got the killer goal we deserved.
The fans were also superb, singing their hearts out all afternoon – I very, very rarely heard any noise from the Falkirk fans. We are now within touching distance of safety. Surely even we can't mess this one up?
Stuart Gillespiewww.saintmirren-mad.co.ukFALKIRKSO IT all comes down to Saturday's trip to Inverness – we win we stay up, we lose and the Bairns are consigned to the oblivion of the First Division. A repeat of the performance against St Mirren would be a disaster: it was a game that saw Falkirk undo all the good work of the midweek battle at Hamilton and capitulate to a Saints side that outplayed and outfought us.
Suggestions that players had their minds on the Scottish Cup final are not acceptable, and this week we need them all to give the performance of their careers. Whatever happens, the Bairns fans who will descend on Inverness in their thousands will need to see their heroes become super again and grab glory from the edge of the abyss. No shirkers, no excuses, the job just has to be done!
Brian Guthriewww.bairnstrust.comKILMARNOCKALL'S well that ends well as they say… but for us it ended before 'Well as we managed to sneak a win against our bogey team Inverness at the weekend to put us safe and leave the boys from the North in a precarious position.
No harm to them, but rather Caley than us, and as much as their fans are a great bunch of guys and girls I'm hoping that St Mirren survive, as it's a lot easier and less expensive to go to Paisley!
The hero of the hour, indeed the season, has been Kevin Kyle, the new King of Rugby Park. He played on Saturday with the aid of pain-killing injections and still managed yet another goal. Hopefully, with him on board for another season, we can see some improvement in the rest of the team. He is not only a goal scorer but brings others into the game. All hail the new King!
Barry Richmondwww.killiefc.comINVERNESS CTAFTER having three points snatched away from us at Motherwell last Wednesday, we left ourselves with the task of getting at least a point at Kilmarnock in our relegation battle – which we failed to do.
What we didn't want to happen was to go into our final game of the season needing something – which we do.
Confidence appears to be low amongst the support as to whether we are capable of doing this against a Falkirk side that has already beaten us three times this season, with the last meeting resulting in a 4-0 win for the Bairns.
We are staring relegation in the face and we all know what will happen if we do not perform on Saturday. One point from safety – we're so near yet so far!
Dave 'Gringo' Wilsonwww.caleythistleonline.comMOTHERWELLDOES the passage of time make the memory sweeter? Does the recollection of Steve Kirk's winning header in the final or Psycho's rocket in the semi replay fade with time? It was 18 years ago this week Motherwell won the Scottish Cup!
The old trophy has been returned to Fir Park only twice. The first was in 1952 when 136,247 crammed into Hampden to see Motherwell beat Dundee 4-0. A wait of 39 years ended when Tom Boyd raised the trophy high after a wonderful 4-3 win over Dundee United in extra time.
Perhaps it is their very scarcity that causes Motherwell fans to treasure those moments. We renew hope every season, daring to believe that we'll go all the way and win the cup for a third time, and we'll hope that season 2009/10 might see us back celebrating on the Hampden slopes.
John Wilsonwww.firparkcorner.comABERDEENTHE cheating from Kyle Lafferty, coupled with the dangerous lunge from Madjid Bougherra on keeper Jamie Langfield, didn't come as a surprise to Dons fans at the weekend. It's what we expect, although these offences normally go unpunished so Bougherra can feel hard done by.
Aberdeen keepers have suffered against Rangers down the years: Theo Snelders suffered a broken cheekbone in a clash with Ally McCoist 20 years ago, and Jim Leighton's jaw was shattered in a Rod Wallace challenge in 2000.
Last season we watched Lee McCulloch and Nacho Novo get sent off for shameful incidents, and before that Fernando Ricksen saw red, albeit years after his kung-fu assault on Darren Young, so it'll be bitter hoping for a Rangers win at the weekend to aid our Euro hopes.
Joe Whimsterwww.aberdeen-mad.co.uk
