The African

A win and a clean sheet. That will do for now.

While I'd rather Thistle lost, this result would keep Saints in the mix. We really could do with a win on Saturday. Have to do the business ourselves, then anything that other results give us is a bonus.

Indeed.

Stevie Kirk off the bench at Dens Park in the late eighties was a turning point for a season where we were dicing with relegation and for Kirkie where it silenced the boo boys and he went on to score four against St Mirren in, I think, the next match, turning around his career with us.

Any kind of win please. Reckon a draw is the likely result though.

Happy with the win. Let's keep the run going next week.

Don't know him personally and have had no dealings with him, but, from what others have said on here he seems to be a good guy doing a decent job so what's not to admire about that? Maybe he got lucky landing the original media role with the club, but having made a success if that he has had the guts to step up to the next level. He had a tough task as we lost a lot of experience when Dempster left and seems to have grown into the job. As for being qualified for the job in the first place, it seems to me that it would be a very specialised role so hanging on for someone who ticked all the boxes could have been a lengthy and ultimately fruitless search. Yes, it may have been a gamble for both employer and employee but it seems to be working out. Good luck to him.

Only need to increase the squad size if the free agents offer something extra. Are those players out there and willing to join us? I am not saying we shouldn't be looking, but there is no reason we can't get out of the hole we are/were in with the current squad.

Looks good. If I were still in Scotland I would be up for some of these. Pricing looks reasonable so it doesn't just look like a money making exercise. The 91 cup win was one of the defining moments of my forty odd ears of following the 'well and worth celebrating. The only sadness are those who were involved who have passed on and cannot celebrate with us.

A draw would be acceptable. They seem to be struggling though, so three points are not out of the question. I suppose we have to be realistic and accept that a win won't keep us up and a defeat won't relegate us. We do not seem to cope with pressure so maybe another away fixture works in our favour.

Four games where we should be looking to get something from. Would love twelve points which would almost certainly see us safe, but would settle for eight right now.

Twelve games left to assure our survival. United being almost certainly down may be a double edged sword as our rivals for the play off spot will also still have to play them.

Last season we were not good enough to take advantage of results going our way at certain times. The situation is similar and we have to make something of it., starting at Perth on Saturday. We are in a dogfight but at least we are not on our own. If we are better than two of the five or six other teams in the mire with us, come the end of the season, I will happily take it.

Not sure about three at the back. Might be the sort of gamble that pays off once and we shouldn't over play our hand.

Tricky, but their form is almost worse than ours. Hopefully we can build on tonight and get a result.

Who do we play next?

Sounds like next season, in the Championship.

Is there that much of a difference between the bottom six in the SPL and the top six in the Championship?

Agreed. For all Hearts' success this season, it is worth remembering the fate of Dunfermline, Falkirk and St Mirren. The thought of a season playing different sides might be okay, but the possible financial implications give me the fear. There is no guarantee that we would return to the SPL immediately.

Is it time to think about not playing either of Ainsworth and Johnson? A midfield of Lasley Gomis Pearson and Cadden could be an option?

Push result and a performance to match, or so it seems.

As an aside, does anyone else find the quote from Pat Nevin amusing? Not what you would expect from this self styled member of the football intelligentsia. Still, I always thought he was a bit of a twat.

I agree it would be bad news, financially, and might lead to cuts which would hamper the club and its development. On a footballing side it might not be all bad news. The SPFL is pretty stagnant with the same clubs to play three or four times a season. One season of visiting new places and hopefully winning a good few games might freshen things up. Of course, there are no guarantees that it would just be one season, so on balance we are better off where we are, but it wouldn't all be negative.

Neither, just in need of a top up.

I would agree if it weren't for the fact that mustn't lose seems, to me, to suggest an almost negative approach. Our record for holding on to what we've got is not our strong point at the moment.