It's said the club moved to it's present recruitment policy after the club were last relegated under Danny Wilson in 2014 .

The story goes that Pat Cryne came in to the dressing room before the game against Notts Forest and did a Churchillian speech to rouse the troops .

What he received back according to legend were blank looks , players yawning and Dead Fish Eyes attitudes .

Fair enough , it would be enough to change my way of recruiting too if I'd entered the dressing room and left bewildered and saddened by that reaction .

The thing is we seem to have the same problem today , it's just the group is younger .


Passionless and lack of fight were in evidence at the City Ground on tuesday evening , our game in hand and an opportunity to lift ourselves out of the drop zone with two games to go , you might say if you can't get motivated for a game of this importance then why are you even playing pro football ?

Where's your pride ?

Your responsibility to yourself , the club and the fans ?

This isn't a pro Hecky post because he's got a hand in our demise too but the players short of ability as they were never jacked it up for him as I ever read or saw myself .

The appointment of the new HC seems to have taken the club back 4 years and destroyed the spirit within 12 weeks .

Things seem to have come to a head as they did 4 years ago against the very same club , a line in the sand moment in my opinion .

Danny Wilson lost the dressing room and this guy has too .

My point is this , unless the HC commands respect , isn't continuously undermined by the suits upstairs and has a solid record and methods on the training field then any plan you roll out will fail with the players of today .

The HC character and role needs to change and he needs more control , he's the man , not Billy Beane and certainly not Goat Hair or James Cryne .

He tells them what he wants , what needs to happen , who he brings in etc etc , he lives and he dies by that narrative .

The ownership have bought the club in my opinion based on the plan , but for christ's sake if it's to continue then let's have someone with the right credentials to deliver it .

League one presents an opportunity to take stock , learn some lessons , the plan's got merits but needs changes too or it fails .

Let's have Beane and his team replaced by people with a solid football background , let's give a HC more control , solid background that commands respect and one or two experienced pro's the younger one's can look up to .

If this doesn't happen over the summer then I fear for our ability to compete successfully in league one .