I was back on the bench at Kilmarnock on Saturday and, I’m not going to lie, there was a small part of me that would have loved to get back on the pitch in the 90th minute!
Being involved in the warm-up and getting stick as the lads were firing shots past me (not all the time!), was brilliant.
But the biggest part of me was just enjoying watching the performance the lads put in to get a huge win for Arbroath.
And that certainly includes our goalie, Derek Gaston, who was superb.
Along with the rest of the boys, it has to be said.
I must admit, hearing pundits on the radio not giving us a chance as we were coming to the ground helped the motivation.
The talk was all about Kilmarnock and what they were going to do.
Nothing will change as far as Arbroath are concerned after beating the title favourites, though.
We’ve got our feet on the ground.
We’re a part-time team who had players finishing their work before we played Inverness away earlier in the season.
That puts it in perspective.
It’s about survival, not play-offs or anything like that.
And next up we’ve got a derby in the Scottish Cup at the weekend.
Third Round #StatAttack:
➡️ The only previous Scottish Cup meeting of @ArbroathFC and @ForfarAthletic at Gayfield came in 1885-86, when the Red Lichties won 9-1 in the Second Round after having beaten Bon Accord 36-0 in the First Round.#ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/ELWPhFOH8j
— Scottish Cup (@ScottishCup) November 23, 2021
I had a beer on Saturday with the Forfar manager Gary Irvine and a few of the other Deefiant boys and Gary has got his team playing well.
We’ve got a target on our backs and will need to be at our best to get past them into the next round.
Season ticket sales have trebled since the gaffer took over here and cup runs help bring the money in to keep that momentum going.
Darren Young is the latest manager to lose his job.
I’m sure he’s done enough with East Fife to earn another chance somewhere else.
Until this season, they always seemed to be going along pretty well.
People will maybe say it’s about timing your exit.
But football doesn’t work that way.
It’s one thing maybe thinking that ‘this is as good as it gets’ at a club but you have to have a better offer to consider moving on.
It brings into focus Dick’s ability to make sure things don’t go stale at the clubs he’s at.
Never standing still and always looking for ways to keep things fresh is a real skill for a manager in part-time football and at the top.
I was delighted for Martin Boyle on Sunday.
Hibs ran over the top of Rangers in the League Cup semi-final and Boyler was their main man.
To get a Hampden hat-trick in such a high profile match is something he’ll never forget.
Martin Boyle is on fire in the Premier Sports Cup! 🔥 #FFScotland pic.twitter.com/m7ssDynymu
— Fantasy Football Scotland 🏴 (@FantasyScotland) November 21, 2021
He was a young lad coming through at Dundee when I was there and you could see his raw ability.
Back then you could maybe say he would snatch a few too many shots but when you’ve got pace like that you’ve always got a chance of going higher.
It’s what he’s done with that pace in the last few years that is the impressive bit.
Martin’s added much more to his game and who’s to say he can’t keep going higher in his career.
