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There comes a point when you have to wonder why it keeps happening though.
It's perfectly reasonable to lose to peers in the cup - it's not a failing of attitude or bottle, it's a simple recognition that someone has to lose and at times it will be us. But that's entirely dependent on the manner of losing.
If we look back to 2018, we played Hearts in two quarter-finals. We gave everything in both and while thrilled to go through the first, no one really complained too much about losing the second. Play reasonably and some will fall our way, some won't. Fine.
But that's a million miles away from our last four exits. It is utterly damning that St Johnstone yesterday - who were most generously average and O'Hallaran apart essentially as rotten as us - were the best side we've lost to in that run. First division Ross County absolutely walloped us, as did relegation-bound Hearts despite the misleading nature of the 'close' final results. If you're feeling exceptionally generous you can argue we were unlucky against St Mirren (deflected equaliser, Gallagher injured and Hartley blatantly ill for replay) but it's hard to blame ill-fortune when it's just one in a long line of debacles...
What brings a 'feelgood factor' and enthusiasm to our support is very hard to define but you know it when you see it and, more to the point, you know it when you don't. Playing poorly and losing in the cups is fine if we're gritty in the league and in the top four; being eighth is fine if we're winning home games regularly while playing nice football with Turnbull, Hastie and Campbell banging them in; playing absolute junk is grand if we're regularly reaching Hampden and thumping Aberdeen en route, etc.
It would still be a massive surprise if we go down this season so full blown panic is not needed. And there's (mostly) understanding that after a purple patch with the youths and the early loss of McLear/McKinstry a bare season there is not the end of the world...but the club/team/management need to find a way of keeping people engaged in what is going to be a very long, potentially very dull season to come. Given we will likely be asking for a massive favour come season ticket renewal time, keeping folk vaguely on board at this point in time (or not) will have massive repercussions for the next year or two. We need to do better.
