David

Our slump coincided with our top striker and one of our best players deciding to piss off to a rival club. I think that was a pretty big part of the reason for our slide post-Christmas.

You could be right, but if I was forced to wager on it, I'd say he's going to be given the first half of next season to get things back on track. If we're looking dodgy by November/December then there's hard questions to answer, but the board have invested in him by handing him a long-term deal, and also by signing players long-term. I don't think they'll throw that away by sacking him if he finishes 5th or 6th.

It's probably worth bearing in mind that it's not as if he's doing he's been doing his job remotely then will speak to the board at the end of the season. He's no doubt been conversing almost daily with Burrows, so they'll know his thoughts and his reasoning behind the fall in results since Christmas. His results this season, which include the top six finish, will earn him the right to try to make the required changes going into next season. He's being paid to manage the team, so it's on him to bring in the right players in the summer and get everything clicking. If he doesn't, and we're languishing at the bottom end of the table in November/December he'll be gone by Christmas. It's that simple really. What we won't do is bin a manager who's hit his targets this season based on the fear that he may not be able to get the job done next season. That would be mental.

It depends really. He's an able backup by all accounts, but certainly wouldn't be my first-choice. I'd rather have him than no one available in that position.

It depends who's available at the time, doesn't it? The players available and the talent levels will differ for each transfer window. It may be that a player who would be a great fit for us in a position we need is available in the summer. I think much of it comes down to a bit of luck, especially when you're operating at the level we are financially.

I'm not so sure it's a case of being unable to recognise a good one, and more a case of not having a good one to choose from. Or even being able to find a good one in our budget.

See, I don't agree that we're at the "win at all costs" stage. We hit that kind of approach when we're sitting 9th or 10th and we're fighting to retain our premier league status. As it is, we've secured top six, so we've hit our target for the season. Europe would be a great bonus, and I certainly want the team to go all-out for that 4th place, but it's certainly not "win at all costs." Although I am pretty sure there will be fans who see us failing to get 4th as a failure on Alexander's part, which would be ridiculous. Exactly. If we're going to give alexander pelters (and rightfully so) for our poor form post-Christmas, we need to give him the credit pre-Christmas.

So you'd want to see him replaced in the summer then?

It's quite simple. He's more than likely going to be judged on the entire season, and quite rightly so, which has been a success as far as our actual results go. When the first ball was kicked this season I seriously doubted we'd make the top six. When the league consists of the teams it does at the moment, the top six should usually be a combination of Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Hibs, Dundee united, and Aberdeen. I saw that as a tough group to crack, especially considering their wage budgets and overall resources. Our "current form" is that we've just qualified for the top six, we've gotten to the quarter finals of a cup, and we're sitting one single point off fourth place. If we all put aside our "fan brains" and thought about this logically, we'd surely have to accept and realise that the club would have to be daft to sack a manager who has just accomplished the above? Our recent run hasn't been great, but again, we judge on the entire season. The actual league positions, the points. Stephen Robinson parted ways with the club when we were on a winless run of nine games, but were sitting tenth, two points off the bottom of the table. If we find ourselves in a similar position around November or December then I'm sure questions will be asked and a similar result reached. The question I'd ask you is what exactly you want to happen? You're voicing concerns over our form, which is fair enough, but what would you have the club do? Sack a manager in the summer who could potentially get us to fourth in the table? Who at the very least has, over the course of a season, gotten us into the top six? if you don't want to see him gone, then what's the answer? For me, he's been handed a list of requirements at the start of the season, and regardless of how he's done it, he's managed to hit those targets. The football hasn't been pleasing on the eye, the results since Christmas haven't been good enough. But we put enough in the bank early in the season to carry us through, and just as much as Alexander is deserving of criticism for his teams performances post-Christmas, he deserves credit for the performances pre-Christmas surely? He's hit his targets for this season. We still have a chance of a European position. Next season? Well, it all begins again, doesn't it? He's handed the remit that he was at the start of this season, and it's his job to make sure he hits or even exceeds those targets again. If it looks like he's in danger of falling below that remit, just Robinson, he'll likely move on. I'm not going to concern myself with next season until we're a week or so away from kick-off. By the time next season rolls around we'll have a fairly different squad of players. We'll be playing against different teams, and all of those will have different squads, so we really have no idea how it's going to play out. My only concern is seeing us do enough to push for 4th. And if we're honest, that's a nice target to have at this time of the season. I bet Hibs and Aberdeen fans wouldn't mind concerning themselves with that.

The facts are there. You may not like them, but that doesn't make them less relevant.

And yet we qualified top six above sides such as Aberdeen and Hibs, who have, man for man, better players, and a much healthier budget. It must be infuriating when you really want something to be true, but it simply isn't. Are we Barcelona? No. And we're not pretty to watch, but we're not "rank rotten with pish poor players and a manager who hasn't a clue" or we'd be in the bottom six fighting relegation. With this manager in charge it could happen? Based on what? His record at the club so far? His 3 manager of the month awards? His top six finish? Or is your chat about sliding down the leagues all based on absolute nonsense?

No one is actually saying that though. We're not talking about winning a cup over playing in Europe, we're talking about playing the group stages of the League Cup over playing in Europe. There's a huge difference.

If we're not interested in Europe, then why even bother trying for top six? European football is the pinnacle for a club like ours outwith winning one of the two cups. It should always be on the agenda if and when we ensure we're not in danger of relegation.

The truth is though that most teams exit Europe with nothing to shout about. We're never going to really do much, and the best we can hope for is a decent draw against a well-known side to add a bit of a novelty factor. It's a chance to dust the passports off, and the fans to create memories during the trips that they'll remember for years. The actual progress of the team is secondary in all honesty. One thing I will say though. I'd certainly rather we were earning €500,000 for beating Glentoran & Coleraine than pissing about against Queens Park or Annan.

I have to admit, I'm quite surprised at the amount of posters here who'd rather we were playing some early League Cup games against lower league opposition than actually playing in Europe. I always thought the idea of getting into the top six was to push for the European places?

Exactly. Why the governing body didn't take this possibility into account in the first place is a bit of a joke. I'm far from someone who has any time for Rangers, but it's on the footballing authorities in this country to be helping them have the best chance of success in Europe, while at the same time not shafting fans of the other clubs.

Not to mention that we made something like £750,000 from a recent European run, did we not?

That's what their £125 million gets them I suppose. We take their money, so we have to play by their rules to an extent.

Everyone needs to start somewhere, and in Scotland there's only a select number of clubs who have the framework and finances in place to offer that kind of job, so he was never going to drop down a division or two. He has his UEFA B, his A and his Pro Licence, and is studying a Masters of Sport Directorship at Manchester Metropolitan University, so he's preparing himself as best anyone possibly could. Now it's time to see if he can put all of that into action. Best of luck to him. My only fear is that if Alexander doesn't manage to kick on and next season begins in the same way this one has gone since Christmas we'll end up with an entire new backroom staff and manager needing to be hired.

Seems that Lamie to Dundee isn't a done deal after all...

At this stage, it's all a bonus now in my opinion. If we can challenge for Europe then great, but if we finish 6th then it's not that bad either. I'd like to see the players just go out and give it a go. Especially against the Old Firm. Those two games are the very definition of free hits, so go out and give it a try.

That could very well be true. I would like to think that some of those clubs were maybe interested when he made it clear he was leaving QPR, but that he preferred to come back to Scotland. Let's hope he signs an extension with us.

Ah, okay. Makes sense. I'm not a big fan of his style of football, but it should be pointed out that since sacking him Gary Neville has said "Last season, Graham Alexander should never have left this club. He should never have left, I should never have made that decision that I made." I guess the grass isn't always greener, and that's what makes it far from an easy choice to just get rid of him.

His style isn't easy on the eye and he's not getting results at the moment, but he's far from clueless. He's proven that with his results not just here but elsewhere. It's also worth remembering that the board, and Alan Burrows, will be speaking to Alexander daily, discussing the issues, and trying to put them right. We don't see that aspect, and I trust the board will know if and when the time is right to tell the manager that it's just not working and it's time to part ways.

Really? You think you were wrong to want Alexander over Wright, who was sacked after less than a year with Kilmarnock, who he had taken to 5th in the Championship? Or over John Hughes who's currently manager of 9th in the Championship Dunfermline? I think it depends on where the big offer comes from. He was sitting on what was most likely a nice contract down south at QPR which was set to run until June 2023 but chose to leave that behind and return to Scotland with us. I have a feeling he may not be overly keen to return down south perhaps? It would be interesting to see how that plays out, but I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if he signs an extension with us. He seems to be enjoying his football here.