Terrace Talk

Oct 8 2008 by Jim Milton, Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser

JUST as quickly as the Diamonds had established a highly promising seam of form that had some informed scholars of the game whispering ‘title challenge’, things have taken a sudden, if not unexpected, turn for the worse.

Four straight defeats have shaken the team’s new-found resolve to the core and with Firhill and the Alba Cup semi-final next on the agenda, the season is in danger of changing dramatically.

In stark contrast to the winning run which is often brought all too easily to an abrupt halt, a losing mentality can quickly become ingrained as confidence levels drop and self-belief fades away.

All of which renders the onset of the campaign’s second quarter so vitally important.

In spite of recent form, it would be nice to think that Kenny Black’s side could emulate the start they made to the season as the first round of meetings reprise on the run-up to Christmas.

Black has come in for some hefty criticism over what many see as an over-emphasis on negativity away from home. It certainly has been less than pretty to watch at times although the fact that we are technically newcomers to Division One must surely be taken into account.

Of significance too is the luck of the draw in cup competitions, ordaining that no fewer than six of our seven ties, including two against SPL opposition, were played away. So criticism has to be balanced with certain concessions.

Although one would hardly think it over the past run of games, Black has assembled a squad with quality and certainly more depth than in recent years but at times there appears a serious imbalance within the side.

With Simon Lynch obviously less than fully fit and Stuart Noble not even making the bench for the visit to Perth, Paul Di Giacomo was again left in isolation as our lone striker. One has to feel sorry for the former Killie forward, whose excellent start to the season has been tainted by what is an impossible task.

In fairness, Jacko works his socks off to make something from very little but he is bound to becoming demoralised in his thankless role.

So what does the manager do to make his side a little more adventurous away from home?

To the amateur spectator, one obvious solution would surely be to sacrifice one of the wide players and have someone play much closer to Di Giacomo, but Kenny’s the man that has to make that choice. With six of the nine league games to date yielding no goals at all for the Diamonds, we have to hope it comes right sooner rather than later.