David

I'd say that McHugh would be worth a starting slot, yes. If he hasn't done the job by mid-2nd half though Ojamaa comes back in. If the likes of McHugh are going to be replaced regardless of how they do when asked upon, then what's the point? If they're happy being perennial benchwarmers then fine, but if they go to training every day in the hope that they can dislodge the current player in their position then find themselves dumped even when they come in and do their job then they'll become disillusioned pretty quickly. In my opinion Page is worthy of a starting slot on Saturday. He earned it when he came in and palyed alongside a youth player making his debut, and managed to stop an Aberdeen side which put two goals past both Clancy & Hutchinson the previous weekend.

"win every game"? Yeah, that's what I said. When you take resources and suchlike into consideration the clubs I mentioned are the ones who should be challenging for the top four most seasons. They can offer higher wages than most of the other clubs, can't they? Unless we can match the money that the likes of Hearts, Hibs & Aberdeen can offer? They draw, on average, higher crowds than we do. Hearts averaged around 13-14,000 last season, whilst Aberdeen weighed in at around the 11,000 mark. We averaged around 5,200. To disagree that their fans have every right to believe that they should be challenging for the top four most seasons is ridiculous. I'm not saying that they should expect to finish there, but if you're a fan of Aberdeen, Hearts or Dundee United you're not going to take a top six finish as a successful season. You're going to expect your team to be challenging for top four. On the other hand, I think it's fair to say that most Motherwell fans begin the season under the impression that a top six finish and a decent cup run is a realistic aim, with anything above that being a bonus. Don't get me wrong, I'm more than happy with those clubs failing, and I'm certainly not saying that we don't deserve to be where we are, as we do. Facts are facts though. The clubs I mentioned are bigger clubs than we are. This only serves to highlight how well run we are, and how shrewd our management team has been this season.

Yeah, but it isn't though. The same situation arose when we beat Aberdeen 1-0 at Fir Park earlier in the season when Bob McHugh came off the bench to score the winner. I thought that should have got him a start the following week against Dundee United, but it wasn't.

Okay then, outside the Old Firm the two Edinburgh clubs, Dundee United & Aberdeen aren't the biggest clubs in the league, their fans shouldn't believe they should be challenging for the top four every season, and they should consider top six to be a successful season. Aberdeen do give their managers enough time to build a foundation and push the club forward. Does that sound better?

I don't see McCall not picking both Clancy & Hutch if they're available. Is that fair on Page? No.

Show me where I'm talking shite then. It's easy to swear and whatnot but if you can't take my post and point out where I'm wrong then you're just being a bit of a tit to be honest.

You must be the smart one in the family, aye?

If we aim for second then finishing third will take care of itself. We have as good a chance as we'll ever have of doing it, so we have to go for it.

Aye, congratulations to them for winning the cup today, but I hope we put a real dampener on their celebrations at the weekend. 3-1 Well.

How did it feel to live on the same street as footballing greatness? I mean Davie, not Neil by the way

Look, I have no intention of arguing with you about the potential Aberdeen have. To put it simply, the top two spaces in the SPL should be contested by the Glasgow greens & blues, and the other two league positions should be contested by the two Edinburgh clubs, Dundee United & Aberdeen. Going by club size the fans of these clubs should believe that they'll be challenging for the top four every season, and should consider finishing outwith those positions to be failure. I think that any Aberdeen fan who believes a top six finish and a decent cup run is acceptable is selling his club short. Such an aim should (and in my case it does) apply to my club and others like us. As you've said though, the board at Aberdeen and some of the other clubs I mentioned above have no intention of giving any manager long enough to build the foundation needed to push their clubs into those positions. In closing, long may it continue

According to the matchday program from the weekend Craigan & his daughters have signed up.

If they put as much effort into it as they did delaying Jorge Cadete's registration then yes

That's exactly how I feel. Once the rest of the guys have had another season of playing together I'd be more comfortable with Craigan going. I take your views on board Melvin, and there isn't anything I disagree with to be honest, but I just have a gut feeling that another season with Craggs in the squad will be of benefit to the younger lads coming through. This will prove especially true if we see one or two of our more influential players sold off, such as Randolph in the summer.

Why? Well, for starters they're one club in an area with a decent population. Aberdeen isn't really affected by the west of Scotland Old Firm shite, so they could (and have in the past) draw a decent crowd to most games. Their match attendance many times doubles what we get at Fir Park, and that's at a time when Aberdeen aren't doing well and we're fighting for 2nd place & the Champions League! Their budget for players surpasses anything we can offer as well.Whether we like it or not, they're a bigger club than we are. You're right in saying that the board haven't allowed their managers time to create a decent side in recent times, and their youth system maybe isn't the best, but to say that a club the size of Aberdeen shouldn't be shooting for the top four most seasons is ridiculous.

If Craigan wants another year playing football with us then he'll have to sit down with McCall and come to some sort of understanding that he simply cannot expect the same level of money he got when he was a regular starter every week. If he's happy enough to accept his role within the squad, and the wage that reflects that then I'm more than happy to see him sign on for another year. Cummins, Page, Halsman etc can't be expected to simply pick up the mantle and compete at the level we surely will be next season. They need to come through gradually, and in order to do that we could do worse than have an experienced head like Craggs there to help them.

Craigan is a useful player to bring off the bench when we're looking to defend a lead late in the game, or if we need cover.

Indeed. Seeing performances from our youngsters like that give us a bit of hope for when some players are moved on over the next few years. I was also impressed by McHugh, even if he didn't get much time to impress.

Your gimmick is becoming rather tedious Dewell. Higdon wasn't outstanding today by any means, but he was far from "crap". He was no better or worse than the majority of our team today, and he played his part in securing the three points.

He's right in one respect though, a club like Aberdeen should be finshing in the top four most seasons.

I thought he tried non-stop throughout the game to be honest. He did look to have tired towards the end though, which is to be expected.

I recall a St Mirren fan commenting when we signed Higdon that we'd see him conceding a lot of fouls and getting virtually none. I see exactly what he meant now. How many times has Higdon been fouled by opposition defenders and got absolutely f*ck all from the referee? It seems to happen virtually every home game. Is it simply a case of claret & amber glasses on my part?

Jennings all the way for me today. He was all over the midfield, making crucial tackles, urging his team mates on, and very few of his passes went astray. I went into this game thinking we'd miss Lasley, but thanks to Jenno's performance today we didn't. Hammell deserves an honourable mention for a very good performance, and both Carswell & especially young Cummins also deserve a mention for their showings today but Jenno was the man.