Julian Banjos

Looks like a similar type of game to East Kilbride in the Irn Bru cup last year. Spartans seemingly defended very well against Dumbarton but offered little going forward. Jack Smith, part of "dome-gate" a few years ago, will be up front for them: http://www.scotzine.com/2013/04/st-mirren-alleged-to-have-used-youth-players-as-construction-labourers/ Hopefully we can get an early goal and have a relaxing night.

Surprised to see Connor O'Keefe is with the squad in La Manga. He was released by JR at the end of the season. I guess he's there as a trialist.

Reading the Chairman's interview, I would agree with the bookies that Stubbs looks the most likely now. Surely it'll be him or McIntyre

Northern Irish media, following Kearney, have a final 4 of: McIntyre, Kearney, Stubbs and Caldwell. Probably the most feasible of all the stories floating about....

Jack and James were in Spain a month ago weren't they? Maybe they met Guti on a course and told him all about this beautiful old club in the west of Scotland....

Maybe Guti is looking to improve his English language skills with an eye on managing down south.

Disappointed that Neilson is out of the running. Best candidate, on paper, in my opinion. I wonder if he realised he shot himself in the foot with his less-than-enthusiastic radio interview.

Alongside Kearney's lack of full-time experience, there's also the potential issue of not being able to command respect in the dressing room. "Just a teacher who's played part-time for a few teams in Northern Ireland....." Sounds petty but it's said to have contributed to Ian Cathro's demise at Hearts and I believe Mark Spalding was in a similar boat with us.

I'm looking at having some pipes fitted in my house. There's a guy from Belfast, a teacher, fits pipes on the side: Tuesday and Thursday nights as well as Saturday afternoons. Heard he's quite good. Who should I give the job to? Him or you?

If Eck, Smith and Reilly worked day in day out with Neilson then why on earth would we not want a bit of inside info?! If Levein was pulling the strings and Neilson wasn't actually all that then it would be good to know. Maybe, if we'd spoken to players who'd been managed by Ian Murray.....

I think Kearney will be seen as too high risk. He's a full-time PE teacher and part-time football manager in Northern Ireland. He's never actually been in football full-time in any capacity. To go from that to a full-time manager in the top league in Scotland seems like too big a jump for me. If we were still in the Championship then maybe...

Alongside JR's knowledge of Neilson, it's also worth mentioning that Eckersley, Smith and Reilly played under him. You'd expect that they've been consulted too. When we signed Reilly, he had to be released from the 3 year contract given to him by Robbie Neilson in 2015.

With Lambert, Hopkins and Goodwin dropping out, I think Robbie Neilson is the favourite now by some distance. He's in the Jack Ross-mould, his teams entertain (96 goals Hearts scored when they won the league) and he has a point to prove after MK Dons. Most importantly though, he won the Championship and then didn't just thrive in the Premiership, he actually took Hearts into Europe. Iffy interview (apparently) aside, it's hard to see past him.

When JR was appointed the choice was pretty limited and we were walking a tightrope, given the trajectory of the club. A crucial appointment and it worked out perfectly. I'm fairly relaxed this time. More choice and the club are in a good place. I think Jack will have been asked his opinion and I also reckon, once they knew a manager was needed, one of the first things that happened was Tony Fitzpatrick making a call to Paul Lambert. Unlikely but....

Well, I guess we won't be the relegation favourites then.... Actually, I think we've a better chance of staying up in the Premiership than we would getting out of that Championship. ICT and Falkirk will be more competitive then throw Ross County, United, Dunfermline and Thistle into the mix. Tough, tough league.

Yes, Ipswich taking JR is equivalent to the likes of Pat Fenlon or Stephen Kenny coming into our leagues.

The way that JR played Barnsley he increased his stock by making it appear that he turned them down when in fact he may never have been offered the job. If Ipswich have 2 interviews with him then go for the Shrewsbury boss (and it's looking increasing likely that they're hanging on to talk to Hurst) then Jack's reputation will decrease somewhat.

Dumbarton got what they deserved: scored a great goal at Alloa early on and then just shut up shop. Goodie's reputation is definitely rising. Alloa play good football and he made really shrewd January signings in McCart, Kirkpatrick, Stewart and Smith: 7 goals for JK and 10 for RS.

McGinn starts for Thistle tonight against Ross County.....

O'Ware was playing it cagey in his interview on the BBC. Says he's looking for a fresh start but doesn't know where he'll be next season.

I thought big Mikkelsen from Ross County / United would be a possibility. Fits the physicality bill and apparently we tried to sign him in January.

Brechin are without their club captain, Paul McLean tomorrow. Him and Sean Crichton were sent off last Saturday but they appealed for McLean meaning he could play in the 0-4 at ICT. The appeal failed (and Crichton is still suspended too).

7542 is the record attendance in the ground so with a home end sell-out (6369) we're relying on Morton bringing 1174 to break that. Think their travelling supports have been around that mark...

Just 10 tickets left for the Main Stand! Not bad more than 2 weeks before the event....

Website showing W1-W5 as sold-out and 150 seats left in the Main Stand.