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Correct lose the next two he's dead.

Ultimately, yes. But one can be fixed and requires more patience and understanding than the other. We are nearly at the natural break of the Nations League fixtures. What happens in the next 2 games will go a long way to deciding Alfreds future.

I rely on him because even at his age he's streets ahead of the dross in the centre of the defence right now. I'm not saying McGinn is our future but short term he's will be an improvement to get us to the January window where sadly we need to spend again to compensate for the poor recruitment in that area. Fuck me I'd bet my mortgage on 35 year old McGinn leaving Girwood-Reich standing in a flat chase to cover back.

Either way that’s down to the manager?

McGinn with one leg is streets ahead of Girwood-Reich and Moornan.

Tactically you are not wrong. As I said in an earlier post and last night we went into panic mode after we scored. A sure sign of a team under pressure. We abandoned our very effective 1st half play to try and defend the game out which was criminal. We resorted to the kind of tactics that Kettlewell would have been proud of after we went ahead. Yes I get the defend as a team angle but equally you do actually need a defence to be competent too and we just don't have it. St Johnstone literally had 3 efforts on our goal and scored with two because the defence is pish.

It is slightly scary that a few posters are relying on it being sorted by 36 year old injured Paul mcginn ( I like mcginn by the way ) maybe he does come back & fix it but on a the flip side we’re seeing a season to far for O’Donnell think how we’re defending as a team needs looked at ( previously said I think we need physicality in midfield ), no doubt the defence isn’t good enough as well though

Are we though? Or are we a team thats failing to take on instruction? The 2 can look the same.

I didnt see the whole game last night, only the highlights. So I wont comment on the overall performance or where that leaves us/Alfred. But, feck me. The defending for both their goals! The majority of goals we have conceded this season are so similar. Lots of Motherwell players in good positions to defend, but nobody taking the responsibility to go and engage an opponent, impact the ball or throw their body on the line to stop the goal. Thats not down to coaching. Thats just naked desire to win a football match. Its a mentality thing. Quite how the manager changes that I dont know. Obviously team selection and substitutions play a part, and Alfred has certainly made mistakes in that regard over the last few weeks. From what Im reading, it appears some are of the opinion he made similar mistakes last night, and thats fair enough But at some point you just have to trust the players when they cross that white line, that they understand whats required to win a football match. Right now our players are failing. Good to hear there were harsh words exchanged between the players last night after the game. Some plain speaking is definitely required.

I agree about Priestman but am not so sure about McGinn. He'll be a year older, missed pre season and has been out with a lengthy and serious injury. What McGinn will we see? Are we expecting too much of him?

You defend as a team, and that starts with an effective press or block and a functioning system from the middle to the front. Of course the defenders then have their part to play, but so does the rest of the team. We should also be capable of retaining possession rather than passing it around the back before launching it aimlessly over the top, only to surrender possession. The defence is rightly taking criticism, but our defensive problems are evident all over the park. Ultimately, we’re a poorly coached team.

I get that you disagree with my views on Alfred, but have some perspective. If we persist with him and things continue to regress, the consequences will extend well beyond him losing his job.

I don't see it quite as black as you but the regression in the defence is off the scale.

You’re clutching at straws here. Nobody is asking for or expecting JBA mk2, but that doesn’t mean we should accept this level of regression. We’ve gone from being one of the best teams in the league to scrabbling around for the tiniest iotas of improvement amid the general shite just to justify keeping calm and carrying on. I’m sure we’d all be happy with a middle ground, but we’re so far away from that it’s unreal. It’s killing the increased attendances and souring the fan base. It’s shite.

I'm not so sure, I start by saying he leaves me unconvinced but there has without doubt been a lift in our performances, 1st Half versus Killie, Hearts game and last night. We are not far away from getting a result if we can sort out our utterly honking defence. The return of McGinn and Priestman will be big for us. That said if we lose our next two games he could be a dead man walking. Saturday is huge for him and the team.

I hope you can understand why many fans are brassed off and have run out of patience with AJ. He's a decent guy by all accounts and has moved his young family here to take up the manager's job. I get all of that, as there's a human side to this story. However, the future health of our club is at stake, and with it the careers of other employees. Can I ask you, if this run continues, how long would you wait before taking action? Would you give him the season for example?

Ffs , somebody is potentially going lose their job and you come up with that ...original stuff.

There were plenty positives to take from last night ...think i will give up posting on this though. When we are going well ( last year) its " this wont last" , when its not going well its sack the boss, lose money and all that goes with it...nae long term thinking, Lanarkshire people just dont know how to be happy.

If we can't manage a win on Saturday, then the Directors must bite the bullet and quickly. That would then give them a bit of breathing space during the international break to get the recruitment process moving. Maybe even a win by itself isn't enough, as Wellfan rightly points out elsewhere. A scrambled win would simply paper over the cracks and kick the can down the road.

if we are finally going to get this season up and running this is the game that could turn the tide. We are close enough to those above that this can close the small gap and get the confidence going again and by god we need it. Last night we went into panic mode after we went ahead. All the signs of a team under pressure.To me the manager panicked too and tried to defend the game out with boot and rush. Imagine trying to defend a game out with the defence we have, poor judgement. Had we the confidence and composure of the early part of the season St Johnstone would not have equaslised as we'd have kept the ball more and caused them more problems than they caused us. However with the managers substitutions and change of formation caused us to give St Johnstone the ball time and time again. This St Mirren game comes down to "can we handle the pressure ?" I'm not so sure we can and the fact we look like we need to score 3 goals to stand a chance of winning any game it becomes all the harder. The manager and players need to try and focus and build on the positives of the 1st half against Killie, the efforts against Hearts and the efforts for much of last night. There are signs we can get it together in most of the team, without reaching last seasons standards, with the one big exception the "Defence" or lack of . We are rank rotten at the back and teams can play pish and easily get two goals off us. Its for that reason I see a point at best and would not be at all surprised if we gift St Mirren all 3

Anything less than a win is unacceptable. My concern, though, is that a win will paper over the cracks and buy Alfred more time, only for it to come back to bite us in the medium term. He’s absolutely shite, and delaying the inevitable will only make things worse.

Tick tock.

How anyone can take positives from that overall performance is beyond me. The regression from last season is staggering. The fact we resorted to the hoofball tactic even while winning should be the final nail in the coffin for Alfred.

I agree Grizzly but it will hinge on the manager picking the right players and the players then delivering a winning performance. At present I’ve no confidence in either. If we lose, no matter whether we play well or not, sadly I think the board is going to have a big decision to make over the next few days. Their problem will be that if they do decide to pull the trigger, who will they replace him with. I think JBA was fantastic for us last season but it is looking increasingly like it was a one off and trying to replicate it this season was always going to be mission impossible, especially given the players we lost. JBA excepted, I’m not a fan of bringing in foreign coaches to Scotland. They quite rightly assume that the players who will be under their charge will have a certain level of ability and competence but that’s not the case as witness by the deplorable performances of our clubs in the various European competitions season after season. Hibs and Hearts have both brought in foreign managers and the early signs are not good, especially for Hibs who are in the same boat as us right now.

Forget last season now. We are in relegation fight. Other sides have cough up and we have regressed.