WE DON'T have many banjo players here in the hollers of Hole in the Wall, East Ayrshire – the natives' annoying musical instrument of choice tends to be the flute. Boy were the local “musicians” busy yesterday: 'Simply the Best,' “penny Arcade' and, from the more-traditionally-minded – 'The Sash' were all getting laldy, as the true believers celebrated title number 55.
Aye, it's been a long time coming, but, as Big Carson, the Chief Bigot in the village, was swift to inform me yesterday: “Ra boays is back oan tap, where we belong.”
Pressure just increased on my old mate Dominic McKay, to get his managerial appointment right, when he swaps the alligator-rich swamp of Edinburgh's EH12 post code for that nest of vipers at the top of Kerrydale Street, in post code G40 3RE.
To be honest, I feel Rangers have played some very-good football this season, particularly in Europe. They have thoroughly-deserved their league win, and whoever picks-up the job of dethroning them for Celtic, he faces a huge challenge.
Stevie Gerrard's challenge, meanwhile, is to keep the team focussed. They have now achieved their principal ambitions for this season – killed-off “ten-in-a-row,” achieved the magic 55, but, the team is still in Europe, they can still achieve a league and cup double, and an unbeaten league season is still on the cards. Plenty there to keep the squad focussed and sharp.
Celtic, meanwhile have a different set of priorities. Some of the foreign mercenaries might be thinking of jumping ship, while for others, it's all about making themselves well-nigh indispensable, when the new boss is appointed. Whoever gets the gig, will almost certainly want to bring in his own players, so, stand-out performances between now and next season just make holding onto a first-team jersey that bit easier.
We are now down to the sharp end of the season, with the top-bottom six split. I think, at the top, the European places for next season are now more or less settled, the main interest will be in the bottom six, and the fight to avoid relegation.
As a Kilmarnock fan, I am worried – I can honestly see our long tenure in the top-flight in real danger over the coming weeks. This has been a dire season for the club; they have not had a “new boss bounce” from the arrival of Tommy Wright, and I am frankly, deeply-concerned.
Still, assuming Ayr United can stay up, there is always the prospect of four Ayrshire Derbies to look forward to in next season's Championship. Because, even if Killie can finish second bottom and get into the play-off, I have no great faith in their ability to win that nerve-shredder.
Finally, before I close this shorter-than-usual blog post. Why all the hand-wringing about Rangers' fans' bad behaviour over the weekend. They have never believed they ought to behave with decorum and good sense – it simply isn't in the average Bear's DNA.
Do Bears shit all over good sense and decorum? You betcha they do. 'Twas ever thus.
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