Well done, Craig Levein

[David McCaig]

I was against Levein's appointment as I wondered if his heart would really be in it and feared a stop-gap caretaker type role.

 

The fact he signed a 3 year deal was reassuring and now he's back in post, I'm so glad we've got him... He just oozes authority and yesterday was the first time in years that we've successfully adjusted things during a match, when things maybe weren't going our way.

 

He made some big calls as well such as dropping Hamilton and benching Lafferty.

 

Yesterday felt like the clouds were lifting and that Hearts are now very much back on track.

[51john51]

Randall's final ball was not abysmal.

Thought that at the game and confirmed it by watching the recording of BBC ALBA.

 

Try watching it.

[Mac80]

Thought that at the game and confirmed it by watching the recording of BBC ALBA.

 

Try watching it.

OK boss

[john5698]

Thought he showed Aberdeen way too much respect for about the first half hour, but addressed it by pushing the team up a bit and it worked wonders.

 

Pity it took a year to find a goalkeeper, that seemed to calm the defence and supporters.

 

Personally I wouldn't have taken Isma off.

 

Randall was better at right back, although his final ball was abysmal. Looking forward to seeing Smith in his place to provide a better attacking threat.

 

Grzelak got a roasting first half cut to his lack of pace, but it Man City superkid should short that out.

 

Looking strong.

 

Well done Craig Levein.

What did you expect us to do?, we were up against a team that according to the media has been flying, it was the logical thing to do especially since we had been playing without a lot of confidence. Once we soaked up all their pressure, Levein being the better manger changed things around and McInnes could not adapt. We were totally dominate for about 65 minutes, played some good football and but for their keeper may have won comfortably. Considering the circumstances it was an impressive performance. I went to the game thinking a draw would be a good result but left gutted that we did not take all three points. Our new keeper on first impressions looks good, helped the defence, those kind of keepers are not always readily available especially within our wage bracket.

Randall's crosses were not abysmal, he had a few dodgy ones but they were not all bad. 

[brux]

We were pretty rubbish first 25 minutes but I think he pushed the press up 10 yards and we dominated after that

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is exactly why he is a great choice for manager, saw what was wrong in the game, didn't just change the formation he realised we needed to press the game in the middle to stop them playing while try to bypass the centre when attacking. Great performance for a maybe rusty Craig Levein

[John mcCartney]

thought randall was excellent,first time i had saw him play ...altho he didnt look to good at kilmarnock in midfield on the highlights

i saw one bad cross from him

[Jammy T]

It's simple really, play like we did for first 20mins yesterday and there will be criticism, play like we did for last hour and there will only be praise.

Yeah you'd allow a new manager at least 20 minutes to bed in though wouldn't you?

 

Usually a new a manager would get a few games but your moaning about 20 minutes - get a grip Gambo, Levein is going to shove a big rusty pole up your ass so hard it's going to pin your jaws together and we won't hear from you again on this.

[Jammy T]

Unbelievable.

I know FFS

 

[tartofmidlothian]

Thought he showed Aberdeen way too much respect for about the first half hour, but addressed it by pushing the team up a bit and it worked wonders.

 

Pity it took a year to find a goalkeeper, that seemed to calm the defence and supporters.

 

Personally I wouldn't have taken Isma off.

 

Randall was better at right back, although his final ball was abysmal. Looking forward to seeing Smith in his place to provide a better attacking threat.

 

Grzelak got a roasting first half cut to his lack of pace, but it Man City superkid should short that out.

 

Looking strong.

 

Well done Craig Levein.

 

I'd agree with this, Isma is probably our biggest goal threat.

[tartofmidlothian]

I was against Levein's appointment as I wondered if his heart would really be in it and feared a stop-gap caretaker type role.

 

The fact he signed a 3 year deal was reassuring and now he's back in post, I'm so glad we've got him... He just oozes authority and yesterday was the first time in years that we've successfully adjusted things during a match, when things maybe weren't going our way.

 

He made some big calls as well such as dropping Hamilton and benching Lafferty.

 

Yesterday felt like the clouds were lifting and that Hearts are now very much back on track.

 

Good post. I haven't felt this comfortable with a Hearts manager since Mr Sergio was in charge. Maybe even Jim Jefferies, because Sergio was average in the league.

[Gambo]

Yeah you'd allow a new manager at least 20 minutes to bed in though wouldn't you?

 

Usually a new a manager would get a few games but your moaning about 20 minutes - get a grip Gambo, Levein is going to shove a big rusty pole up your ass so hard it's going to pin your jaws together and we won't hear from you again on this.

The only one moaning is you moaning about someone giving Levein praise!

[maggieb]

doubters of CL can gtf

[Thomaso]

Yeah you'd allow a new manager at least 20 minutes to bed in though wouldn't you?

 

Usually a new a manager would get a few games but your moaning about 20 minutes - get a grip Gambo, Levein is going to shove a big rusty pole up your ass so hard it's going to pin your jaws together and we won't hear from you again on this.

 

 

 

Grow up

[Ulysses]

I was against Levein's appointment.....

 

Me too.  I think CL has been very much under-rated by people for his performances as a manager, and I think he did a really good job with us in tricky circumstances in the final years of the Pieman regime.  But I happen to believe that "you can never go back", and I have a feeling that it won't work out this time.  I hope I'm proven wrong, but that's what I think.

 

 

Yesterday felt like the clouds were lifting and that Hearts are now very much back on track.

 

It looks that way, but players often ratchet up their performances when a new boss takes over, and we need to see a good bit more evidence before we can say for sure that there's a sustained improvement.

[Bowmans_Boot]

Was going to start a new thread but 2 things stood out massively today. Actually 3.

 

1. We will not be bullied as much as we did under Cathro. Not a chance

 

2. We will go more direct when we need to. We still played some really good stuff, especially the 2nd half.

 

3. Defensively we were ******* immense. All 3 at the back were magic today.

 

Stone cold sober as just back in but loving it do far Craig lad. More of the same please.

 

Other positives where Jamie looked interested today (good man management), Isma was ******* Barry except when he should have passed first half.

 

Callachan looked a nippy wee *******. I love that in a player.

 

Chuffed to bits despite the fact we should have won that easy today.

 

A special mention to the Aberdeen goalie today. He was top notch

Excellent post. Hope you enjoyed your day, CC!

[stevie1874]

I'd agree with this, Isma is probably our biggest goal threat.

Played well was a constant threat to Aberdeen defence. Only criticism of him is sometimes he needs to know when to shoot or pass.

[Bowmans_Boot]

That team was like night and day compared with Cathro's. They looked organised, aggressive and the players looked like they knew what position they were meant to be playing. The style was also much more direct.

 

I'm confident the club have made the right call in appointing Levein.

Another excellent post.

[mitch41]

Yep.. Maybe the naysayers will trap it now.. Not a doubt in my mind hes the man for the job.. Best we've played for a very very long time

Not a time to dwell on those who wanted a real manager. I'm sure all Hearts fans are backing Levein for the good of the team.

[mitch41]

I was against Levein's appointment as I wondered if his heart would really be in it and feared a stop-gap caretaker type role.

 

The fact he signed a 3 year deal was reassuring and now he's back in post, I'm so glad we've got him... He just oozes authority and yesterday was the first time in years that we've successfully adjusted things during a match, when things maybe weren't going our way.

 

He made some big calls as well such as dropping Hamilton and benching Lafferty.

 

Yesterday felt like the clouds were lifting and that Hearts are now very much back on track.

I agree and at last we have levein communicating with the fans which is like light and day for his relationship with our support.

[redjambo]

Not a time to dwell on those who wanted a real manager. I'm sure all Hearts fans are backing Levein for the good of the team.

 

"Real manager"? Away with ye.

[red]

Hibs will be firmly put back in there place this season under CL thats for sure

[TexasAndy]

I think every Hearts fan left the ground on Saturday with a spring in their step.   Onwards and upwards.

[Bazzas right boot]

When we play a higher tempo pressinggame we are better.

 

 

Everyone can see that, been the case for years.

 

CL changed it after about 10 minutes when we were giving them the freedom to stroke the ball about.

 

Randall was ok after a dodgy start, Souttar had to help him too much in the first 10-15 minutes.

 

Isma was very good, good to see him back at his best ( I know his decision making is poor, but we need to live with that, if it was good he wouldn't be near us)

 

Two new guys done well.

[John Gentleman]

Me too.  I think CL has been very much under-rated by people for his performances as a manager, and I think he did a really good job with us in tricky circumstances in the final years of the Pieman regime.  But I happen to believe that "you can never go back", and I have a feeling that it won't work out this time.  I hope I'm proven wrong, but that's what I think.

 

Correct. We won't "go back". We'll be better. He's working with a much more supportive management team, in particular Budge and MacPhee.

[Hearts1975]

When u saw Craig being interviewed it looked like he had been to hell and back. Just showed how much he had put into the game on a personal level ... great performance and great to see

 

The same players that were a laughing stock under Cathro give or take 1 or 2 new signings looked a different beast on Saturday. The difference in level of performance is down to 1 individual and that's Craig Levein... no question ... Great performance against a side that won't lose many this season

[dallan]

Just saw the EN online and the picture of Levein shaking Aaron Hughes hand.

 

Thought it was Magic to see a picture of a Hearts Manager that actually looked like a Hearts Manager....

[tartofmidlothian]

Just saw the EN online and the picture of Levein shaking Aaron Hughes hand.

 

Thought it was Magic to see a picture of a Hearts Manager that actually looked like a Hearts Manager....

 

Spot on. Hughes on Levein today:

 

"When asked what difference Levein had made to the squad since taking the reins at Tynecastle for the first time in over a decade, Hughes revealed a change in mentality within the dressing room. Hailing the manager as being a man with a ?real presence?, he stated that if the side focused on high performance levels, they would start to earn maximum points from their future outings.

 

?It?s been a subtle difference, really, little things here and there,? he explained. ?It?s getting that feeling of being hard to beat back again. 

?It?s making sure, from a defender?s point of view, that when we?re attacking we need to be on the front foot and make that first contact so we stay on the front foot and stop them from counter-attacking.?

?He has just been very clear and concise and to the point. Craig has a real presence about him. It?s only been a couple of days but that?s how it has been so far. And so far so good."

[samcdonald22]

A decent start, i was dubious at the appointment, but i thought, ok makes sense, but the jury is still out, give him 10 games! and then we can see ...

[Rudy T]

Spot on. Hughes on Levein today:

 

"When asked what difference Levein had made to the squad since taking the reins at Tynecastle for the first time in over a decade, Hughes revealed a change in mentality within the dressing room. Hailing the manager as being a man with a ?real presence?, he stated that if the side focused on high performance levels, they would start to earn maximum points from their future outings.

?It?s been a subtle difference, really, little things here and there,? he explained. ?It?s getting that feeling of being hard to beat back again.

?It?s making sure, from a defender?s point of view, that when we?re attacking we need to be on the front foot and make that first contact so we stay on the front foot and stop them from counter-attacking.?

?He has just been very clear and concise and to the point. Craig has a real presence about him. It?s only been a couple of days but that?s how it has been so far. And so far so good."

The key word in that is 'presence'

 

Cathro had none, Daly had a fair bit, Leveins got it in spades. He managed and played at every level in.

 

I maintained all along we had the core of an very good squad with the addition of a couple of players and a keeper we'd be back up there so long as they were managed correctly.

 

Levien won't let that standard drop. They've proved they can do it against probably the 2nd strongest team in the league so now it's time to go out and keep that level up. We have options now and any player not pulling his weight will be out.

 

3 new signings and first choice full/wing backs out and at murrayfield make no mistake that was a great performance. What we'll see now is teams over analysing us and showing us respect. Something that's been missing for a long time, no one will think they can roll us over now.

[colinmaroon]

I agree and at last we have levein communicating with the fans which is like light and day for his relationship with our support.

 

 

You obviously are very selective in what you hear and read.

 

Has been fully and acceptably explained.

[amadjambo]

I think every Hearts fan left the ground on Saturday with a spring in their step. Onwards and upwards.

I left gutted, but I know what you mean. I'm much more positive now than I was before the match, or even at half time. That 2nd half performance and the way Levein got the team to change its shape and intensity to counter a very good Aberdeen side has filled me with hope.

[Thomaso]

I was against Levein's appointment as I wondered if his heart would really be in it and feared a stop-gap caretaker type role.

 

The fact he signed a 3 year deal was reassuring and now he's back in post, I'm so glad we've got him... He just oozes authority and yesterday was the first time in years that we've successfully adjusted things during a match, when things maybe weren't going our way.

 

He made some big calls as well such as dropping Hamilton and benching Lafferty.

 

Yesterday felt like the clouds were lifting and that Hearts are now very much back on track.

 

 

 

 

 

I actually agree with every word of that.

 

It was just one game but the transformation was just so welcome after months of depression.

 

Really hope we can go on a run now.

[Bull's-eye]

I actually agree with every word of that.

 

It was just one game but the transformation was just so welcome after months of depression.

 

Really hope we can go on a run now.

Secretly gutted though.

[Watt-Zeefuik]

The difference is astounding, even if we only took a point.

 

Not long ago we were drawing 2-2 with Partick at Tynecastle and being glad it wasn't worse, or getting papped out of the candy rounds of the league cup by oil rig workers. In Levein's first game in charge we host a home game that isn't a home game against the most in-form team in the league not named Celtic, keep a clean sheet, and are supremely disappointed not to win.

 

As I said before, our squad is not shite. Our head coach was shite.

 

More than ever I'm grateful to have Levein at the club, which is a tremendous change from when he was first appointed. (I didn't remember his time at Hearts and only knew his Scotland period.) He has a clear concept of how a football club needs to be run, and his experience at Hearts and United probably showed him that if the setup above the man on the touchline isn't right, there's only so much a manager or head coach can do. And there was no way for him to take on both the touchline and changing room responsibilities at the same time as getting the structure of the club right.

 

Now that the footballing structure of the club has been sorted, he's fixing the squad on the pitch. What an incredible asset for the club to have.

[John mcCartney]

lets not forget mcphee here,the manager and him were havin long convos during the game n all

looks a good structure to get on with

 im just hoping playing footballing wankers like hamilton, they carry this on and play right through them on saturday

 

[Ulysses]

Correct. We won't "go back". We'll be better. He's working with a much more supportive management team, in particular Budge and MacPhee.

 

We'll see.  All going well he'll prove me wrong, and I really hope he does.  But a couple of dodgy results and people would be quick enough to get on his back.

 

Put it this way, our next four games are:

 

Hamilton (A) - barely ahead of our "interim" team

Partick (A) - behind us with 1 point

Dundee (A) - behind us with 1 point

Ross County (A) - behind us

 

Now you can guess what kind of expectations people will have for those games.  Even with our "post-Cathro" setup we're ahead of three of those teams, and only just behind Hamilton.  An improved CL team - even at this early stage - will be expected to pick up points in those games.  If that doesn't happen, we'll drop at least one place in the league and any good feelings from the weekend's performance will evaporate pretty quickly.  And we need those points, because the following three games will be tricky to say the least.

[Erik]

We'll see.  All going well he'll prove me wrong, and I really hope he does.  But a couple of dodgy results and people would be quick enough to get on his back.

 

Put it this way, our next four games are:

 

Hamilton (A) - barely ahead of our "interim" team

Partick (A) - behind us with 1 point

Dundee (A) - behind us with 1 point

Ross County (A) - behind us

 

Now you can guess what kind of expectations people will have for those games.  Even with our "post-Cathro" setup we're ahead of three of those teams, and only just behind Hamilton.  An improved CL team - even at this early stage - will be expected to pick up points in those games.  If that doesn't happen, we'll drop at least one place in the league and any good feelings from the weekend's performance will evaporate pretty quickly.  And we need those points, because the following three games will be tricky to say the least.

 

I think this is pretty important.

 

How this team handles those upcoming games will tell you a lot more about this Levein side than one match against Aberdeen did.

 

If we're to believe that we really have turned a corner under CL, then we'd better have a decent haul of points from those 4 fixtures.

[Paolo]

The difference is astounding, even if we only took a point.

 

Not long ago we were drawing 2-2 with Partick at Tynecastle and being glad it wasn't worse, or getting papped out of the candy rounds of the league cup by oil rig workers. In Levein's first game in charge we host a home game that isn't a home game against the most in-form team in the league not named Celtic, keep a clean sheet, and are supremely disappointed not to win.

 

As I said before, our squad is not shite. Our head coach was shite.

 

More than ever I'm grateful to have Levein at the club, which is a tremendous change from when he was first appointed. (I didn't remember his time at Hearts and only knew his Scotland period.) He has a clear concept of how a football club needs to be run, and his experience at Hearts and United probably showed him that if the setup above the man on the touchline isn't right, there's only so much a manager or head coach can do. And there was no way for him to take on both the touchline and changing room responsibilities at the same time as getting the structure of the club right.

 

Now that the footballing structure of the club has been sorted, he's fixing the squad on the pitch. What an incredible asset for the club to have.

Not long ago, people on here who weren't happy with that 2-2 draw with Partick were getting told that they were deluded and had a sense of entitlement and that they should go and support one of the Ugly Sisters.

[Rudy T]

Not long ago, people on here who weren't happy with that 2-2 draw with Partick were getting told that they were deluded and had a sense of entitlement and that they should go and support one of the Ugly Sisters.

They were also telling us our squad was so bad it was getting relegated. We had no manager and weeks left in the transfer market. We've since added a manager and 3 players in key positions.

 

It was nothing to do with a sense of entitlement it was about perspective and keeping faith with the people who have run the club since admin and taken us from near oblivion to a championship win and European football all the while restructuring the entire club and building a new stand.

 

So many jumping all over the board every time they try and defend our club. Walker, Billy Davies, the stand etc. Then Levien steps forward and it goes into overdrive about negative football. We need to win football matches and we will do so under CL no longer will unfit piss taking footballers be tolerated, neither will teams thinking they can bully us or turn up at our place and roll us over. That's the Hearts I've known and loved for 40 years.

 

Never has this club been in a stronger position so it's about time fans started to recognise that and get behind the club.

[TexasAndy]

I think this is pretty important.

 

How this team handles those upcoming games will tell you a lot more about this Levein side than one match against Aberdeen did.

 

If we're to believe that we really have turned a corner under CL, then we'd better have a decent haul of points from those 4 fixtures.

I agree it's important to pick up points in the next 4 games, I would be looking for 7 or 8 points But having a run of away games makes it hard to build up any real momentum.  I think we see where we are by the split after New Year and that will be a better judge of the impact Levein has had on the team.  

[David McCaig]

They were also telling us our squad was so bad it was getting relegated. We had no manager and weeks left in the transfer market. We've since added a manager and 3 players in key positions.

 

It was nothing to do with a sense of entitlement it was about perspective and keeping faith with the people who have run the club since admin and taken us from near oblivion to a championship win and European football all the while restructuring the entire club and building a new stand.

 

So many jumping all over the board every time they try and defend our club. Walker, Billy Davies, the stand etc. Then Levien steps forward and it goes into overdrive about negative football. We need to win football matches and we will do so under CL no longer will unfit piss taking footballers be tolerated, neither will teams thinking they can bully us or turn up at our place and roll us over. That's the Hearts I've known and loved for 40 years.

 

Never has this club been in a stronger position so it's about time fans started to recognise that and get behind the club.

The fact that Cathro was potentially capable of getting this squad relegated was exactly the reason why he had to be sacked!!!

[jambogjh]

I agree it's important to pick up points in the next 4 games, I would be looking for 7 or 8 points But having a run of away games makes it hard to build up any real momentum.  I think we see where we are by the split after New Year and that will be a better judge of the impact Levein has had on the team.  

CL will be looking to pick up 12 point from these fixtures if we do or not is a different matter but he will change the players mind set.

[mitch41]

I hope having a man manager like Levein will help some fans realize that young untested coaches are a massive gamble and if you employ one make sure you have a financial way out if they fail. Hearts ae too big a club for aporentice Managers.

Levein will prove he has got what it takes to manage Hearts.

[John Gentleman]

We'll see.  All going well he'll prove me wrong, and I really hope he does.  But a couple of dodgy results and people would be quick enough to get on his back.

 

Put it this way, our next four games are:

 

Hamilton (A) - barely ahead of our "interim" team

Partick (A) - behind us with 1 point

Dundee (A) - behind us with 1 point

Ross County (A) - behind us

 

Now you can guess what kind of expectations people will have for those games.  Even with our "post-Cathro" setup we're ahead of three of those teams, and only just behind Hamilton.  An improved CL team - even at this early stage - will be expected to pick up points in those games.  If that doesn't happen, we'll drop at least one place in the league and any good feelings from the weekend's performance will evaporate pretty quickly.  And we need those points, because the following three games will be tricky to say the least.

 

I can't speak for others, of course, but my expectation for these away games is that CL/AM will set the team up to win the matches, not aim for dreary draws. We'll be in their their faces from the starting whistle. CL said it himself: "we have to keep and build on the momentum" (or words to that effect). I'm confident that's at least one component of his KPIs. Another would be to reinstate Tynie as a fortress, something it hasn't been for a long while. The third (this one's on my wishlist) is to regain supremacy over the Squibs. The last few years have been embarrassing under Neilson and then Cathro.

 

CL, in terms of experience and age, is now in the 'sweet spot' for managerial success (think back to 'peak' Jim Jefferies). Budge is clever. His 3 year managerial contract wasn't a generous gesture from her. It was an offer that he couldn't refuse; well, not without losing face anyway. He's already lost two faces in his career and he won't want to experience a third. Somebody had to pay for the Cathro debacle, so welcome back to the dugout Craig. I also think the DoF role will be quietly downgraded from 'directing' to 'overseeing'. I don't think the structural changes are finished yet either. I fully expect further announcements from Budge. Perhaps not major ones individually, but large incrementally. 

 

I'll bookmark this thread for review in 6 months and probably discover how wrong my predictions were. Such is life!

[Brauhauser2012]

You have to think how much was down to Cathro and how much was down to the players. 

You can't just show up in the dugout one week and expect a transformation with the same players but that is what has happened.

Jon Daly was saying how much fitter he had managed to get the players but would you not expect a professional footballer to be responsible for his own fitness?

I was delighted with the performance against Aberdeen. As CL has more hands on time I think we can expect further improvements but I can't help feeling the players themselves were responsible for the mess we found ourselves in as much as IC.

[Jammy T]

If we show the level of performance we did against the sheep in those four games we should win the all.

 

Life and sport doesn't work like that though.

 

However, I'd want 8 points minimum. But I think we could get 10.

[Watt-Zeefuik]

Not long ago, people on here who weren't happy with that 2-2 draw with Partick were getting told that they were deluded and had a sense of entitlement and that they should go and support one of the Ugly Sisters.

 

TBF it was one of the first signs of life in our squad in months, and Partick weren't playing badly at the time. But that was sign of how far we'd fallen last season.

 

We'll see.  All going well he'll prove me wrong, and I really hope he does.  But a couple of dodgy results and people would be quick enough to get on his back.

 

Put it this way, our next four games are:

 

Hamilton (A) - barely ahead of our "interim" team

Partick (A) - behind us with 1 point

Dundee (A) - behind us with 1 point

Ross County (A) - behind us

 

Now you can guess what kind of expectations people will have for those games.  Even with our "post-Cathro" setup we're ahead of three of those teams, and only just behind Hamilton.  An improved CL team - even at this early stage - will be expected to pick up points in those games.  If that doesn't happen, we'll drop at least one place in the league and any good feelings from the weekend's performance will evaporate pretty quickly.  And we need those points, because the following three games will be tricky to say the least.

 

I will be disappointed if we don't get at least six points and hopefully more out of those fixtures, because given the oddness of the schedule due to the main stand renovation as well as having faced the top three other teams in the first five games, two as officially counted away games, we're actually sitting in fine shape in the table and I'm holding on to aspirations of a high league finish this season.

 

If we miss that I'll be disappointed but it'll just be a setback, not a lose-the-plot moment.

[Ulysses]

I think this is pretty important.

 

How this team handles those upcoming games will tell you a lot more about this Levein side than one match against Aberdeen did.

 

If we're to believe that we really have turned a corner under CL, then we'd better have a decent haul of points from those 4 fixtures.

 

A lot of people feel this way.  Jaysus, the CL previous edition team would have been expected to pick up 8 points from those games.

 

But it is early days, and my worry is that people will get on his back and the team's backs if we (say) scrape 3 or 4 draws from them.

 

 

I agree it's important to pick up points in the next 4 games, I would be looking for 7 or 8 points But having a run of away games makes it hard to build up any real momentum.  I think we see where we are by the split after New Year and that will be a better judge of the impact Levein has had on the team.  

 

Which means that although the performance against Aberdeen was pretty decent, it is just a one-off.  We have to wait and see what happens before rushing to judgement.

 

 

I can't speak for others, of course, but my expectation for these away games is that CL/AM will set the team up to win the matches, not aim for dreary draws. We'll be in their their faces from the starting whistle. CL said it himself: "we have to keep and build on the momentum" (or words to that effect). I'm confident that's at least one component of his KPIs. Another would be to reinstate Tynie as a fortress, something it hasn't been for a long while. The third (this one's on my wishlist) is to regain supremacy over the Squibs. The last few years have been embarrassing under Neilson and then Cathro.

 

CL, in terms of experience and age, is now in the 'sweet spot' for managerial success (think back to 'peak' Jim Jefferies). Budge is clever. His 3 year managerial contract wasn't a generous gesture from her. It was an offer that he couldn't refuse; well, not without losing face anyway. He's already lost two faces in his career and he won't want to experience a third. Somebody had to pay for the Cathro debacle, so welcome back to the dugout Craig. I also think the DoF role will be quietly downgraded from 'directing' to 'overseeing'. I don't think the structural changes are finished yet either. I fully expect further announcements from Budge. Perhaps not major ones individually, but large incrementally. 

 

I'll bookmark this thread for review in 6 months and probably discover how wrong my predictions were. Such is life!

 

If you're right - and I hope you are - we'll have an entertaining and enjoyable time over the next 6 to 8 months. 

 

I don't mind being optimistic, but let's not read too much into one game, that's all I'm saying.

[tartofmidlothian]

Bump.

[August Landmesser]

Bump. [emoji106]

 

3 points from the hoped-for 7 or 8 already...

 

Next week is a big one. Thistle look to be getting their act together a wee bit, but they are playing on Tuesday vs Newhun.

 

We can win at Firhill, but it could be another battle. After today, I'm sure we have the stones for it.

 

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