Next up - a top six visit from Rangers

[Footymad]

Motherwell and Rangers meet at Fir Park on Saturday as the top six contest gets underway. - External Link

[Handsome_Devil]

Would be thrilled with a draw but you can't help feeling the most crucial game for us this weekend isn't at FP but at Tannadice...if United beat Hearts, who have their own injury worries, we're probably going to United next week on the verge of not being able to catch them. Alternatively if United lose, we have our own decent chance at home to a Hearts preparing for the cup final to come.

That's assuming Celtic do the business in Dingwall of course.

Lots of fun and games and even if it doesn't work out for us it's better mucking around in the top six than worrying about relegation!

[LawSteelman]

I’ve got a feeling this will either be a 0-1 non event or something crazy like 4-4 with us scoring a late equaliser.

As ever there is one cast iron certainty in this fixture. We won’t win.

[Handsome_Devil]

I was meaning to ask if you'd taken a blow to the head when I saw your prediction!

Could live with that tbf.

[sieb1886]

4-4 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Handsome_Devil]

What on earth did we do at HT? That second half was an embarrassment.

[WoodyG]

Pathetic dross.

Beaten by a 10 man second eleven.

They are an embarassment

[firparkUSA]

Pathetic dross.

Beaten by a 10 man second eleven.

They are an embarassment

Any respectable club would be clearing out the management at this point.

[LawSteelman]

We did okay in the first half and with them going down to 10 and us equalising should have been a platform to kick on and get a result. But that second half was pathetic. Created nothing, allowed them to walk through us and generally boss the game.

I don’t care about spawny top six finishes, Graham Alexander needs to go and take 80% of that team with him.

[Handsome_Devil]

For next season.

The goalie is fine.

We need to give Johnston a chance in summer, if he's not ready or if SOD doesn't suggest this season an aberration, we need a new RB.

We absolutely, top priority, need a new LB.

We need at least one new CB. I'm not convinced Mugabi, SSJ, Lamie aren't ok as a partner...but we need a leader and first pick.

We need a proper holding midfielder as much as we need a new LB.

Slattery/Cornelius you'd keep.

So out of seven positions, I'd say we're happy with two, and a couple more might do in fresh circumstances. We need at least three.

The rest is rather muddled because it depends on how we're playing. KVV is ok, could we do better or use him differently? Maybe. Tierney is a project, where would you play him? Shields and Woolery each have their moments, I don't mind trying to develop them. But one at a time, both being on leaves the attack very inconsistent. So we need at least one attacker, probably two. Efford is a waste of space, Amaluzor the same and Roberts surely won't be signed again.

I don't think we're at the rip it up totally and start again, I do think we get less out of our players than is there because of the manager's approach. We maybe only need five-six signings in summer rather than the eight to 12 of previous years but there's a huge amount of pressure on them because they need to be key players who instantly improve the first XI.

Does Alexander deserve the chance to continue? The next four games obviously give him the opportunity to prove this but on the evidence of the last four (!) months it's hard to back him...early season ticket sales will be crucial, Hibs showed that when you make a mistake it's better to own up sooner rather than later. We will see.