It should be noted that we still aren't 100% safe against relegation. Should we lose against Falkirk while Dunfermline beat St Mirren, the gap between the bottom sides and us is six and seven points respectively. We then travel to the resurgent Pars before facing our bogey side St Mirren at home. Of course even if we were to lose all three of the next matches then it would still require a bad set of results to put us in serious trouble. It can't happen. Can it?
The simple thing is just to turn in a decent performance and beat Falkirk. Since their arrival in the SPL we have beaten them five times out of six and the other was a draw. While they have been on a good run until recently they were dire against St Mirren and they have a tendency to lose a few on the bounce once they slip up. John Hughes will be looking for a big reaction from his side but then we should be giving everything as well and there should be little reason to fear a side we have dealt with so well in the past.
They no longer have Stokes, Alan Gow has given up scoring since agreeing his move to Rangers and with Dodd suspended they will have to further shuffle their back line. We are without our usual injured trio but McCormack is presumably fit again and it is not unreasonable to hope Keegan could take a place on the bench in case of late emergencies. Kevin McBride might be doubtful after going off last week and we also have decisions to make over McDonald and Kerr. Both are off in the summer but can we risk dropping them when we are not 100% safe? The alternative risk of playing them while they are not 100% committed is no more palatable.
If we turn out with the same attitude as last week we will probably lose again. However even if you aren't a Malpas fan it must be hoped that either he or simple professional pride will manage to lift the side to greater things this time around. We won't have McDonald to carry us much longer but we might as well enjoy it when he's here. He will be the inspiration in a 2-0 win.