The African

If there were signs of improvement to justify some optimism then I would gladly acknowledge them. There aren't. We have been shite all season and even if new players are brought in, it will be tough for them to turn around a side so short on confidence and ability.Things not looking great and no reason to hope we can stay up beyond the fact that the teams below us are no great shakes either.

It certainly took time for Maxwell to come good, but he did in his last couple of seasons.Just remembered Billy Thompson. He was fairly average at best. And Keith MacRae who was decent but went south with his proper job and had a few games with Man City before a howler cost him his place.

Did Sammy play many games for the 'well? My memories of him are mainly from Junior football.Those with longer memories might recall the bomb scare that was Ally Hunter, and he got capped!Still reckon Woods is the worst long term custodian I have had the pleasure to see at Fir Park, though Gardiner would run him close.On the plus side, Rennie, Dykstra, Maxwell, Ruddy and Randolph were all pretty decent.

Neilsen moving on, without a cost to the club and freeing up his salary, would be a good move for the club. He may be better than his form for us suggests, but it has not worked for him at Fir Park and it is time for us to go our separate ways.

We seemed to be very impressed with the artificial surface we played on in Norway a few seasons ago. If it has got to the stage that they are now on a par with the real thing then it will, at some stage in the near future, become an investment worth making.Lots of top end rugby stadia are going for a plastic / grass combination which seems to be a way forward, if somewhat expensive initially, if the quoted costs are to be believed.As to the link with on field success at Hamilton, I would tend to favour the argument that a hard working bunch of well organ players are reaping the rewards but that it has little to do with the playing surface.

Nobody ever shouted at me to get back to Europe when I worked in Africa, though I reckon some of my employers thought I was an imposter.

We seem to be off the radar when it comes to our players attracting attention. Randolph got into the RoI squad and still no one was sniffing round, apart from the usual Celtic interest when he was capped and when we were about to play them. It may also have been because he was a goalkeeper and they seem to be less likely to move for cash.

So how many of those out of contract this summer are worth keeping?Lawson? Unlucky with injuries but has not proved himself, so no.Vigurs? Undoubtedly talented, undoubtedly inconsistent. Probably a luxury we cannot afford, so no.Sutton? An honest and hard working pro who has a good goal scoring record at SPL level, yes.Ainsworth? Similar to Vigurs in terms of what he can offer and when he does produce it, so probably no.Ramsden? Injury prone and getting on, so no.Kerr? Not good enough, so no.Carswell? Shown some promise and young enough to improve, so probably yes.Angol? Like a more defensive version of Vigurs or Ainsworth. Not taken his chance here so no.Nielsen? Hasn't worked out for him here, so no.McHugh? Had chances and been found lacking, so no.Cummins? Not had the chances others have had, but if he were good enough you would have thought that he would have shown it on loan, so no.Law? Not good enough, so no.Ojaama? If we can keep him then great, but reckon others with deeper pockets will move for him.O'Brien? Would not be bothered to see him head back to Derby now. Not awful, but not great either.Stewart? Not had a chance here. If the coach thinks he is good enough to be a back up keeper behind Dan, or whoever, then he deserves a deal if he wants one.

Any kind of win would be great for us. Keep our run going and help pull us away from the shite end of the league table. I really hope we can do it and,being a derby, there is no reason we cannot upset the odds. I am not going to be greedy, another scrappy one nil win will do me fine right now.

The rebuilding job will probably have to wait until the summer as most of the deadweight in the squad is unlikely to attract any interest at present and we are not really in a position to pay them off. If we can get a couple out of the system on loan deals then it may free up some cash for a new face or two, again probably on loan. Of the guys we have currently on loan, I would like to keep Ojaama if possible and wave cheerio to O'Brien who has not looked any better than what we already have, which is damning with faint praise.As it stands, we have to get out of the mess we find ourselves in with the squad we have. This is eminently achievable given the standard of the league but there has to be a major turnaround in attitude and fitness. The interesting time will come in the summer transfer window. It will be difficult but let's hope we are not rebuilding for a season in the Championship.

Sad to say that, as this has dragged on and the list of possible candidates has been less than inspiring, McCall returning has crossed my mind as a viable option. Unlikely though, and probably not the right move. I think the fact I am overseas at the moment makes it easier to forget how shite we were before he jumped ship.

Have to agree, no stand out candidates in those listed. Hope whoever gets it proves me wrong.

So basically Butcher has wasted our time with his application and interview.Wonder if we will ever find out why he has decided he no longer wants the job?Still, we have dodged a bullet as he is a shite manager.

So much for the "astute businessman" quote then?

Maybe not exciting, but more positive than it might have been.The whole South American thing is laughable, as anyone who remembers the situation at Dundee when they tried it. History repeats itself twice, first as tragedy, then as farce.Nobody is making money in Scottish football at the moment an clubs like ours are stuck between a financial rock and a hard place. The WS may struggle but short of an idiot willing to splash the cash on a vanity project, and we know how that will end, they are the option that will have the clubs best interests at heart. No, not exciting, but it may get us through to better times. Good luck to them.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish the happy couple all the very best.

Really disturbing trend for us. I will hold my hand up and admit that my moving to New Zealand won't have helped.When you look at how recent success has not helped at all, you wonder if there is a solution.

McCall has gone. Next please!

My late father used to wax lyrical about the Ancell Babes. They might not have lifted a trophy but legend status at Fir Park. Sympathies to his family and friends. RIP.

Stark does not inspire at all. Beggars cannot be choosers but surely we can do a bit better than this "has been". I would rather take a chance with someone young and hungry.

Leitch is tarred with the McGhee brush.

Somebody of the names being listed by the bookies are just daft. Brown? McGhee? After walking out on us? Butcher? After getting Hibs relegated? Doyle? On what we can afford to pay? Just seems crazy.Hope we get someone who can get the players fit and organised. That would be a good start. None of the internal options really inspire.

Never good when a manager goes, but the time was right. Personally I was never a huge fan of McCall but you cannot argue that in the league he achieved amazing results for a club of our size. I sincerely wish him all the best. One thing you could not fault him on is his honesty and this looks like an honest decision to go as he knows there is not much more for him to give.

Would seriously struggle even though I am on the other died of the world. I follow Anderlecht and Shalke in Europe but it is not the same. Motherwell have a part of me that no other team has, or will ever have. If they die, then that part of me also dies.

Can we not invest some of the money we are saving on win bonuses on a new signing to freshen things up?