retired_darom

Saturday 6th May, 2006
Pre-Match
Its our penultimate match of the season against seventh placed Hamilton away at New Douglas Park, and I can only hope that our two week break hasn’t had a negative effect on our form. With McCluskey still out with his rib injury, David McGregor will continue to deputise in the centre of our defence. John Maisano has looked good in training but at this stage I really don’t want to risk injuring him again or destabilising the team.

John Park told me as we got on the bus that he “has a feeling about today being the day”. I can only hope that he’s right. Billy Stark has only been in charge for a month and has a record of won one, drawn two and lost one. Brechin are at home to Clyde, so hopefully they can do us a favour and put them out of the running.

Post Match – Away @ Hamilton Academical: Draw 1-1
This was our worst performance since our 4-0 defeat at Clyde over a month ago, and on the whole it was a day where if it could go wrong, it did go wrong.

With all due respect to the Accies, who performed well and deserved their point, if we had played them ten days ago I’m sure we would have trounced them. I don’t like to make excuses, and I’m not going to say that my Manager of the Month award or John Park’s pre-match comments jinxed us, but this two-week break without a game clearly had an effect. Other than the defeat at Clyde, I’m struggling to remember a less dynamic performance from my players.

It was an inauspicious start as Kris Weckström pulled up chasing a ball down the line in the first minute, and it looks like he’s done some serious damage to his groin. Needless to say we had to replace him with Andy Driver. We were just sluggish all over the park and Willy Bald was forced into making an important save in the 18th minute. Our performance on the whole today was epitomised by their goal on the stroke of half time. We hesitated on the edge of the area, there was a miscommunication between the defence and midfield, and Brian Carrigan took an opportunity to steal the ball and fire in at the near post. To make matters worse, Weatherson came into the dressing room with a knock to his calf, so Tom Brighton went on for another sub appearance in the second half.

As a rule I try not to lose my temper with the players, but at that moment I felt that they should be reminded about how they felt at the tail end of last season. How if they failed to rescue this afternoon’s result, their efforts in the last two months would all be for nothing. They had to go our and play like the team they are and not a shadow of it. From the touchline Parky and I did see a slight improvement, but on the whole the team was a poor imitation of the one that had moved into first position at the end of April.

Just after the hour mark I decided to make our final change. I moved Kieran McGuire right up behind the strikers to try and break through their stubborn back line, and replaced Bannerman with Mark Maisano in the hope that his freshness would compensate for the lack of McGuire’s presence in the middle of the park since I’d freed him from his defensive duties. Luckily, in the 77th minute, the switch paid off as Kieran nipped between two defenders and slid the ball to the right of the goalkeeper.

The goal salvaged a point for us but the players knew as they came into the dressing room that I wasn’t happy. Brechin’s 1-0 win against Clyde means that we’re still top, but only on goal difference. I told the players that they hadn’t done themselves or the club justice today, but we’re still in the driving seat and that we’d start again on Monday. We have already relegated St. Mirren in our final game next Saturday and Brechin have to play Falkirk away from home, a fixture that is never easy.

How my players react to this result will tell me much about their character as individuals and as a team, a factor that will influence my thinking on next season whichever league we are in. After our experiences last season I refuse to allow my players or this club to be branded as choke-artists. We must deliver in the final 90 minutes of our season to gain promotion, and that’s what we’re going to do.

retired_embartl

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>

I’m also slightly concerned that its taken four days to get through writing the intro and an article related to one game month, but I’ve chosen the writing style so I’m going to stick with it. I only hope the lack of update pace isn’t diminishing anyone’s enjoyment.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Nope, not at all. What's important is you stick with what you like, after all it is your story. Don't worry - there are plenty of stories out there which are updated on a much slower basis and are still very enjoyable. Good luck.

retired_darom

Sunday 7th May, 2006
After the game yesterday the papers wanted to know what we were going to do in the wake of the injury to Kris Weckström, who was taken to hospital with a suspected torn groin muscle, which, if its as bad as Paul Kelly thinks it is, could see him miss the end of this season and the beginning of next. After our performance against Hamilton I had to show the players that although I was angry with them, they still had my support, so I said that Kris’ injury was a blow, but we could cope with his absence. However unsavoury the circumstances, this is now Andy Driver’s big chance to step up and fill the void on our left flank, and he’ll get that chance next weekend.

Monday 8th May, 2006
Parky told me during training today that a couple of the players had been talking and they said that Kristoffer was slightly dejected about my reported comments after the game on Saturday. I decided to go and see him after training to straighten things out. It turns out that he felt that too much was being made of his absence and was concerned that it would have a detrimental effect on the team. It shows the selfless nature of the young Finn that he’s thinking that way, but I reassured him that while the team will miss him in his absence (confirmed now at about five months), I’m sure that we can secure promotion so that when he returns he can play against the best Scotland has to offer. If there’s a player that the team should make an effort for on Saturday though, it’s Kris.

I spoke with Donata that evening about the game and my post match reaction, concerned that it will have had the opposite effect than I’d intended. The one thing about the press, given my lack of experience I’m still caught off-guard by, is that when you give them a quote, they comment on your mood, your mannerisms, and the inflections in your words. Since my mood wasn’t the best on Saturday afternoon I’m afraid that the squad as a whole will feel that I’ve lost faith in them and that they can’t take my words in the dressing room or on the training pitch as the truth. Mix-ups like the one with Kristoffer show that it can happen quite easily and if they don’t trust me, they won’t play for me.

Upon hearing this, Donata simply told me not to worry, and that if I noticed anything untoward in the attitude of the players during training over the next couple of days I should just sit down with them and clear the air. Otherwise I should just keep working towards winning the game on Saturday as I normally would, especially since she doesn’t want me to be moping around the house all summer. Still her counsel set my mind at ease, for which I am grateful.

Wednesday 10th May, 2006
Manchester United won the English Premiership this evening despite losing at Highbury against the Gunners as Chelsea lost at home to Blackburn.

I also got word today that Clyde manager Stuart Balmer has agreed to take over at Brechin City. Depending on how the fixtures at the weekend go, he could have gone from managing a mid-table First Division side to an SPL side in the space of four days. The way that the squad has responded to Saturday’s result has shown that my fears of just two days ago were unfounded and I think we’ll be in good shape for the game against St. Mirren.

retired_darom

Friday 12th May, 2006
As soon as I got into the office this morning, my usually cheery secretary strode into the room, her mood visibly just this side of satanic. Slapping a copy of The Daily Record down in the centre of my desk instead of a cup of tea, she asked if I had seen the story on the third from last page of the sport section. Obviously I hadn’t, but when I read the article I could see why Mary was so angry.

Claude Anelka had decided to chum the waters as it were before our game on Saturday, saying that:

“Morton shouldn’t expect any favours on Saturday…[and that he]…would take great delight in [his] St. Mirren team being the one’s to derail MacGregor’s promotion push.”

Well thank you Claude Anelka. In addition to being a football agent and a football club manager, you’re now able to add “world-class idiot” to your resume.

I proceeded to take the article into the dressing room at the training ground and relay word for word to the players exactly what Monsieur Anelka thought about our club. The reaction was just what I was looking for. I told the players what I told the The Daily Record just before I came to see them. This quote is going to run before the game in both the paper and the matchday programme tomorrow:

“I am sure my players will prove themselves to be the best team in this division by 4:45pm on Saturday afternoon. We will without doubt gain promotion to the Scottish Premier Division and herald the beginning of a new era for this club. If Claude Anelka and his already relegated St. Mirren believe that they can stop us then they are sadly mistaken. If they can’t even maintain their status as a First Division side, what makes them think they can do anything other than fall at the feet of a side on the brink of great success? We will triumph this day, and Claude Anelka can take with him the knowledge that his arrogance has helped us to make history.”

Too inflammatory? Maybe a touch but as I write this I really think he deserves everything his team gets tomorrow. The entire team rallied in training today and the doubts I had earlier in the week have gone. To amend a quote from a certain superhero – Anelka has made us angry…and he won’t like us when we’re angry.

retired_darom

Saturday 13th May, 2006
Pre-Match
The entire squad had lunch together as always before the game, and most of the players had a light meal of pasta and chicken. Surveying the room, I’m sure now that we’re ready. In the player’s eyes I see no fear – just fury and determination. As we were eating I asked the coaching staff for predictions. None of them wanted to comment, especially Parky – I think he feels responsible for our performance last week because of his “special feeling” comment. I tell them not to worry. Our only changes will be Driver in for Weckström and John Maisano returning to the squad on the bench.

As we got to Cappielow Park a fine crowd was building; I’m especially pleased that a lot of the locals have started coming regularly and doubled our attendance to a near five thousand average at each home game, a rise from around two thousand last season.

In the dressing room Greacen and McCluskey were both acting as captains despite the latter’s confinement to the bench in a non-playing capacity; motivating the players, telling them that they were determined not to lose. Peter Weatherson in particular looked focused before his last game for the club, but the opposing managers comments a day earlier had everyone’s attention focused on giving their best, and to beat this St. Mirren team, our best is definitely good enough.

John Park came to me just before we went out and noted that Alex Williams was quieter than usual given the situation – he’s usually not shy of helping gee the team up before a game – so I took him to one side for a talk. I told him just to go out there, play his game, and give the SPL a taste of what its going to be seeing on a regular basis next season. All he said was “Yes boss.” before making his way down the tunnel with the rest of the lads to the cheers of an expectant crowd.

Post Match – St. Mirren @ Home: Win 3-1
After the events of the past few days I was sure that we’d win and we did. My players got into their stride immediately and proceeded to take the opposition apart.

The first goal (7 mins) from saw Williams cross in from the left, Weatherson cushion a header down in the area, and McGuire arrive unmarked to strike it past the keeper. Our second (16 mins) saw Williams connect with a Weatherson cross from the right, and head it into the top right-hand corner. Weatherson capped the scoring after 34 minutes by smashing in a shot from 25 yards, earning himself his twentieth goal of the season.

At half time the crowd was elated and a quick look across at the dejected expression on the face of my opposite number in the away team dugout was immensely satisfying. It seems that sulking is a family trait. The only blot on the afternoon was an uncharacteristic mistake by Stewart Greacen as he fouled one of their players in the area after 58 minutes, and gave away a penalty that Ricky Gillies managed to put away. Since we were coasting at this point I brought off the precocious talent of Kieran McGuire and replaced him with John Maisano, who was welcomed back warmly by the crowd.

We kept going for a fourth but it just didn’t come, and with only a few minutes to go word spread that Brechin had drawn 1-1 with Falkirk. The promotion and the Scottish First Division championship were ours. The ref called time soon after as celebratory chants spread around the ground. I went immediately to shake Claude’s hand before he escaped down the tunnel, and with that little ceremonial over I proceeded to celebrate on the pitch with the staff and my players. Alex Williams was announced as man of the match and deservedly so. Any nerves he had before the match quickly evaporated as soon as he stepped on the pitch and he really showed his quality today.

As they set up the podium from which we were to collect our trophy I went to the directors seats to see Chairman Dougie Rae, who was sitting with Donata and the twins, all of whom were very happy for us. Dougie was remarkably emotional about our success, and although he was quick to praise both players and management, I had to tell him that we couldn’t have achieved so much so soon without his support. He told me to get back down to the pitch for the celebrations, that we’d all have a drink that evening, and come Monday we could start planning for next season.

Just after we collected our trophy and proceeded to give the crowd a lap of honour, I got a call on my mobile from my mum and dad. They said that they were very proud and that Jeff Stelling had just shown pictures of us receiving the title at Cappielow Park. He and the Soccer Saturday crew were even lauding our success! When Charlie Nicholas says that you’ve achieved something of note by getting Morton into the top tier of Scottish football for the first time in nearly 20 years, that’s when you know you’ve hit the big time.

retired_embartl

Superb - well done on the title

retired_jgirl87

Congratulations on the first season. :thup:

I agree with what BoN said. You're doing very well - stick with what you are comfortable with. Believe me, it's up there with the better efforts in this forum.

retired_darom

Sunday 14th May, 2006
As I sat down this afternoon to watch Milan clinch their third successive Serie A title, albeit slightly groggy after the celebrations of last night, I began to ponder our own record this season. After the match I warmed up my PC and assessed the results:

W: 22 D: 5 L: 9 F: 60 A: 27 Pts: 71
Most Appearances: Stewart Greacen – 37 (1)
Most Goals: Alex Williams – 26
Most Assists: Alex Williams – 11
Highest OPTA Average Rating: Kristoffer Weckström – 7.68
Most MOM Awards: Kieran McGuire – 8
Average Attendance: 4942

I can’t really deny that I’m happy with the way that the season went on the whole, although one element of our game that I’ll have to try and look at for next season is definitely trying to get the team to stop relying on Alex Williams for goals, especially since Weatherson is heading of to Motherwell as soon as the window opens again.

Those are problems for another day though.

retired_darom

Monday 15th May, 2006
Today was the Scottish First Division Awards Dinner, kindly hosted by Celtic Football Club in the Kerrydale Suite. The nominees in each category from each respective club were present and a few brought their spouses or partners if they had any, including myself.

The night proceeded pleasantly and since this was my first visit to the banqueting facilities at Parkhead I must say that I was most impressed. Whenever you watch a Celtic game from within the ground you’re always struck by the quality of the surroundings, but it’s a pleasure to see that they’ve taken the same care internally as well. Of course these types of facilities are standard fare in nearly all modern stadia. I don’t mind saying that I hope to manage a team with similar surroundings at some point in my career, whether that is at Morton or somewhere else I couldn’t say. The chairman is certainly ambitious, but as a realist it’s questionable whether or not such progress could be achieved in my time at the club. Of course that isn’t to say that I couldn’t be tempted into presiding over a Sir Alex Ferguson-esq tenure at the club if the conditions were right. But I digress.

When the awards portion of the evening began, we were pleased to see that Bald, Greacen, McGuire, Williams and Weatherson were all honoured in the First Division Team of the Year category.

Young Kilgannon of Ross County was named as First Division Player of the Year, with the absent Kris Weckström coming in second, ahead of Brechin’s David White in third. I was slightly disappointed for Wecky, but Kilgannon certainly did his upmost to pull Ross through more than a few of their games, and sometimes that sort of outstanding contribution, even without titles attached, is what wins personal awards.

Finally, the First Division Manager of the Year award was set to be announced. I suppose that our consistency in the final months of the season and our title win should have put me in poll position for such an accolade, but you’re never sure. While personal awards are secondary to the success of the team, its always nice to have good work recognised. As I sat waiting quietly, sitting on my left, and looking quite smug as Airdrie’s Sandy Stewart was announced in third place, was Dougie Rae whispering…

”You just wait son…”

As Alex Smith went up to collect his second place award for his work at Ross County this season Donata, who had been sitting quietly on my right, slipped her hand on top of my own and gave me a quick smile as the announcer went on talking to Alex Smith at the front of the room.

A minute later, when I heard my name, I froze for a second. Strange things run through your head when you hear that you’ve been named as the manager of the year, like you don’t know how to react. Having only been in the game for two full seasons as a manager it’s hard to believe that you could achieve so much so soon let alone be honoured for it. At some point though, through the rising applause in the room, I had to get up. Public speaking is never something that I’ve been very fond of, even as a lawyer, but you do get used to it. I went through the regular platitudes, recognising the efforts and support of my family, the board – especially the chairman, the fans and most of all the team. I also felt that I should mention Dick Campbell who, though now at Nottingham Forest, was definitely responsible for the recent progress of Brechin. Thankfully there was a general consensus among those present that such a comment was not without merit.

As the post-award party was breaking up, the chairman took me to one side and told me to take a break for a couple of weeks while he himself was on holiday. With so much work to be done, even with around two and a half months to go until next season kicks off, I tried to protest, but he said that he wouldn’t be able to give me a decent picture of the finances available for next season until then at any rate. He even jokingly suggested that I’d lose my job if I insisted on working rather than use this chance to take Donata and the children away earlier than we’d planned. Since the eccentricity of chairmen is not something to be taken lightly I agreed. On the way home it turned out that Donata was more than happy to take advantage of my brief sabbatical and had in fact encouraged Dougie to prompt me into it. Once again my protests were met with what were hopefully joking ultimatums that I won’t go into here, but my dear wife convinced me that the break would do me good – especially if I was planning on taking in the World Cup this summer…

So, the month of May was undoubtedly good for myself and the club as a whole and we look forward to the World Cup and the arrival of SPL football at Cappielow Park.

As I sit here amongst the lush surroundings of my father-in-law’s vineyard, I’ve still kept up with football on the continent. Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea cruised to a 3-1 win over Feyenoord in the UEFA Cup, whilst Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool bored the world in Brussels as they drew 0-0 with PSG at the Stade des Trois Tilleuls before winning 2-0 on penalties. Without a doubt it was one of the worst games I’ve ever sat down to watch.

Today was the first time I’ve heard from the chairman since I’ve been away, and I’m afraid to say that the month is going to end on a low note. It seems that preliminary talks on sponsorship and such means that I won’t have a lot of money to play with in the build up to next season, which is certainly going to have an effect on our chances to stay up – I guess I’m going to have to take a leaf out of Sam Allardyce’s book and be creative.

Until next month then, enjoy what should be a fascinating World Cup.

retired_jkat116

Very enjoyable read, KUTGW :thup: