THE supporters have their say.
HIBERNIANTHANK God it's nearly over! I think that would be the over-riding feeling of all Hibs fans after we left Easter Road on Saturday following another defeat and another sub-par performance from Hibs against Dundee United.
There is no doubt that the better team won on the day, but dire displays dished up by Mixu's team are not getting any easier for us Hibees to watch. While the first team have been awful, the Under-19s have been excellent, winning the league and cup double and at least providing us with a few crumbs of comfort in an increasingly uncomfortable season.
Very few Hibs fans will be confident going into tomorrow's derby and given our long list of suspensions, it'll be nothing short of a miracle if Hibs do manage to eke out a result.
Eddie Hendersonwww.hibs.netST MIRRENTHE chances of us avoiding the drop are looking slimmer than ever after Saturday. We may have a three-point cushion between ourselves and Falkirk, but if the game against Caley Thistle is anything to go by it's only a matter of time until that gap is swallowed up.
There seemed to be no fight from our players, while Caley Thistle were up for things from the start. It was no surprise to see us lose yet another late goal – the only difference this time was that it cost us a draw, rather than a win.
Falkirk, Caley Thistle and Hamilton have reacted to the situation they are in. Aside from the win against Motherwell the other week, we have not. One league win all year is relegation form. We have to turn things around now or we can kiss goodbye to our SPL status.
Stuart Gillespiewww.saintmirren-mad.co.ukHAMILTON ACCIESIT WAS another cracking weekend for Accies. Not only did we see off the challenge of an insipid Kilmarnock side, but we were able to celebrate the talents of James McCarthy yet again as he was deservedly named as the young player of the year. James is contracted with Accies for the next couple of seasons and if he continues to produce match-winning performances like Saturday's then we'll be delighted. His two goals that saw off Killie were terrific and, should we stay up, he'll have been one of
Now we have a big televised game at Inverness on Sunday that will surely draw a small crowd despite its importance to both clubs. Whichever side wins will surely be safe, but Accies haven't lost to the Inverness men this season and will be full of confidence.
Gilbert MowatINVERNESS CTOUR starting line up against St Mirren caused a few moments of panic among us and many believed Terry Butcher had lost the plot. It turned out to be a masterstroke as the boys knuckled down to pull off a great result to keep us four points off the bottom.
Roy McBain effectively snuffed out any threat from Andy Dorman which also seemed to affect the rest of the opposition.
We showed a great team spirit on Saturday and one that has been lacking for most of the season.
After conceding an equaliser in the closing stages we were expecting the inevitable collapse, but this never happened. Ross Tokely's winner rounded off a perfect day and gave us a priceless three points.
Dave 'Gringo' Wilsonwww.caleythistleonline.comMOTHERWELLTHE dismal display at Falkirk was only an appetiser for what we have to look forward to for the rest of the season. However, while for us that game was unimportant, for them it was a do-or-die clash of the highest possible magnitude. And would we trade places with them? Not likely!
It is a sad fact that in almost every league in the world just now there are some teams with absolutely nothing to play for. At least the much-maligned split kept interest going for us until 33 games had been played – without it, so far clear of relegation and short of Europe, our season would have effectively been over even sooner.
We still have a chance of Europe through the Fair Play League. It is a ridiculous way to qualify but we definitely shouldn't be embarrassed if we do manage it through that avenue.
Derek Wilsonwww.firparkcorner.comABERDEENALTHOUGH it was disappointing to concede three goals to Celtic after such a positive first half at Pittodrie, the display of Chris Maguire has given encouragement that the fight for fourth isn't quite over yet. Maguire endeared himself to the Red Army with his astute character assessment of Alan Hutton and Barry Ferguson on his Bebo page but his performances on the park have left many unconvinced.
After notching his 11th senior goal on Saturday, Chris has shown himself to be the most clinical finisher at the club. Aberdeen haven't managed to score twice in a single game since United visited in February. Maguire, however, has scored three of our last four goals, and with three points tomorrow now vital, his form gives good reason for optimism.
Joe Whimsterwww.aberdeen-mad.co.ukCELTICWATCHING the first half on Saturday gave me that horrible feeling of déjà vu: Free-kick to Aberdeen, Mulgrew, goal! Aberdeen ran our back line ragged and could have been two or three up by half-time. Was it the loss of Big Mick or Aberdeen losing the goal that ultimately turned this game? I don't know but we certainly looked more secure after the 50th minute with Loovens on. Skippy's shift up front was what ultimately turned this game from a potential draw to a win.
Celtic visit Ibrox, my favourite away ground, next. It's a place where the fans always seem so angry and annoyed about something. It will, as always, be a challenge but we've won there in the past. Fitness was key in the League Cup final; the longer this game stays 0-0, the more chances will be created for Celtic. Hopefully the Rangers fans will be leaving Ibrox early, as usual.
David Devine
KILMARNOCKSATURDAY'S sequence of results provided a rude awakening for any of the Rugby Park faithful who felt we were already safe from relegation. It would be a travesty if we were to go down, but, now just three points off the bottom with four games to play, that prospect no longer seems as unfeasible as it did when Falkirk were cast adrift.
The Bairns have their tails up now and their visit to Rugby Park on Saturday is probably both clubs' biggest game in years. If we lose we will go joint bottom and, given that we've proved this season that we're quite capable of going on lengthy runs without a win, there is absolutely no guarantees that we will suddenly hit form if we do hit the bottom. It's time for our players to start showing their undoubted quality!
Brian Evanswww.killiefc.comDUNDEE UNITEDWELL I can certainly think of several worse ways to set our stall out post-split than Saturday's vital 2-1 win at Easter Road. It's been an extremely up and down season for United but the way the team set about their business and the result it brought about has definitely left everyone at Tannadice buzzing. So much now rides on tomorrow's encounter with Aberdeen.
Arabs have long been blessed with runaway minds, dreams of glory but laced with a healthy dose of reality…we've fallen at the final hurdle too often to be anything else really! What an achievement it would be though if Craig Levein and his troops were to secure a Europa League berth. With the dark clouds gathering over Setanta and Scottish football, at least United fans had something to smile about this week.
Hamish Mackintoshwww.dundeeunited-mad.co.ukRANGERSHATS off to Andrius Velicka. Our Lithuanian forward barely had a look in since scoring against Falkirk on the first day of the season, but now he's been brought in from the cold, he looks like he's on a single-handed mission to keep our title hopes alive. It beggars the question: why has Walter Smith felt compelled to keep such a free-scoring striker kicking his heels on the sidelines for so long, especially with Kenny Miller and Kyle Lafferty having been misfiring so badly at various stages of
The partnership Velicka has formed with Kris Boyd over the past month or so means we can enter Saturday's crucial Old Firm derby with a degree of confidence, which might not have been the case had he and the likes of Stevie Smith not forced themselves into the side at just the right time to boost our cause.
John Brooks
HEARTSTHE match at Ibrox was tempered by two things: one being that with a bit more luck in front of goal we may have taken something from a match in which we played well; the other being another controversial performance from referee Iain Brines. Not just the penalty that never was, but a two-footed lunge from behind by Lee McCulloch on Mike Tullberg that made no contact with the ball which Brines did not even deem a booking.
We now move on to the derby and in a way having the game coming so quickly off the back of the Rangers game may help us get that result out of our system. This is a must-win game against a team ravaged by suspension. If we beat Hibs we are to close to securing European football for next season, a fantastic achievement for Csaba Laszlo in his first season at the club.
Broxburn Jambo
FALKIRKTHREE points and real hope of SPL survival restored, even some dodgy decisions from referee Willie Collum could take nothing away from a battling Bairns performance.
This week it's a return to the "scene of the crime" where Kilmarnock gave us a right good humping only a few weeks ago. That 3-0 reversal triggered mass criticism from the fans, the cause of much upset recently, but now we have a chance to go back and get the win that will go a long way to helping our fight for survival.
Jim Jefferies will not make it easy and I expect another big physical performance from them, not least from Kevin Kyle who did so much damage to us last time. That said, the Bairns seem to have rediscovered their mojo and I expect to come home with the points in the bag.
Brian Guthriewww.bairnstrust.com
