With all due respect to Llanelli, they were not expected to pose too many problems but they fought superbly and deservedly defeated our disjointed team 1-0 in our 'home' leg.
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Along with playing European games on a weekly basis, Jim Gannon had also been busy in the transfer market. Jennings, Humphrey, Coke, Ruddy, Moutouakil, Jutkiewicz were all added by the end of the transfer window and a very positive August containing away draws at St Johnstone and Aberdeen and a home win over Kilmarnock left the fans feeling optimistic. At this point Jim Gannon seemed to be doing everything right - his made game changes were working so merely seemed eccentric rather than mad while alienating senior players was of little concern when the youngsters were playing so well. However, there were soon murmurs about dressing room discontent and memories of just how savagely Craigan had been criticised in public remained.
September brought more cheer with a draw against Rangers and a penalty win over Dundee United. Forbes was proving to be a goal machine from the midfield and he netted a sensational winner to pull us from the mire against Inverness in the League Cup. A dismal performance against Hibs saw us lose for the first time domestically but one defeat in two months was viewed as good going. There was a slight change though as our previously flowing performances were replaced by a more gritty style and we were a little fortunate to defeat bottom club Falkirk. Concerns were still a long way from the agenda though as draws at Celtic and St Mirren, coupled with a win over Hearts, kept us in contention for the European spots. Gannon had his manager of the month gong and the only downside was a horrific 3-0 loss in Paisley in the League Cup. Things took a more negative turn when Gannon produced several excuses for the performance, few of which featured himself, while a new batch of rumours suggested he was working at the club without a contract.
Jutkiewicz scores against Falkirk
When things went wrong in November they did so over a month rather than overnight. We still showed some nice touches but our failure to turn numerical advantages against Hamilton, United and Aberdeen into victories was very disappointing. Gannon then kick started a ludicrous war of words with referee chief Hugh Dallas and while some of his points may have been valid, his aggressive and confrontational attitude was doing him no favours.
December saw the wheels come off the wagon completely and the only surprise was we finished the month still in the top six - though that was down to Aberdeen's failures rather than our own progress as we lost every game we played. In fairness losing only our second game of the year in December at Easter Road did not prompt panic but it was a dismal performance and Gannon storming off in the huff after the match did little to suggest he had control of the situation.
Making changes for the Celtic match wasn't unreasonable but pitching Meechan and McHugh into the starting line-up was mind-boggling. Neither should be ashamed of their performance but it was remarked after the clash that it was a 'look at me' move by Gannon and this comment now seems spot on. We were hounded 6-1 at Ibrox in a collapse but sitting fifth at Christmas with only four losses was now a fine record which disguised the true extent of our problems. The manager was scarcely giving the impression he wanted to remain at the club and a terrible home loss to St Johnstone was the final nail in the coffin. The potential impact of the manager at half time is often discussed but we had led our last four home games at the interval only to take a mere two points from 12 - form which is little short of catastrophic.
The board took action on December 28, sacking Gannon for his lack of commitment to the club. It is doubtful he would have been fired had he maintained his early results but the combination of dreadful form and his clear lack of desire for the job made the decision an easy one. Craig Brown and Archie Knox were promptly appointed as interim managers and though they steadied the ship in their only game to date at Tynecastle, we were still far from looking like a good side.
Out with the old..in with the new
In truth we are probably now in a similar position to that of January 2009. Then our manager was angling to leave and though we had potential talents like Porter, Clarkson and Hughes in the squad, they were clearly on the way out. Presently we have no long-term manager in place and talents like Ruddy and Jutkiewicz could be gone by the end of the month depending on how their loan deals work out. We do have an eight point gap over bottom club Falkirk though and while we are capable of being dire, we are probably not significantly worse than anyone else in the lower half of the table.
Another six months of transition looks likely - let's hope the board appoint the right man to do the job.