Scott Walker Column

Published 17 Mar 2010 10:58 0 Comments

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DESPITE having players out - including myself - for Saturday's game at Stirling we showed amazing spirit to win the game.

It was our third successive league victory over our local rivals and fellow title contenders this season and was a massive boost for everyone at the club following last Tuesday's defeat at Dumbarton.

I was sent off in the game against the Sons and while I except my first booking was justified, the second, that also led to their penalty, wasn't.

We weren't playing well, though - it was a poor performance. It was a bad night for the club and we really didn't deserve anything. We were terrible for the opening half hour - I haven't been involved in anything worse.

That result meant we were nervous ahead of the trip to Stirling on Saturday. But it gave us a gritty edge which showed by the performance we put in.

They had a lot of chances and put us under pressure in the second half but we took our chances and that proved the difference.

Admittedly, it was backs to the wall stuff at times but our team spirit was great and I could clearly see that watching it from my seat in the stand - a frustrating place to be as I was dying to play.

Stirling have not beaten us this season and to defeat our nearest rivals 3-0 is just fantastic. If we can take confidence from the Albion win into the games ahead we will have a good chance to progress.

This is an exciting league. There are teams going for the championship, promotion play-offs and those trying to avoid relegation.

It is going to be a difficult run in for us - we still have to go to places like Peterhead and Arbroath, which will be tough. We have a never-say-die attitude, though, and hopefully we can do well.

The past week has been really bad for us on the injury front. Chris Townsley, Scot Buist, David Mclune, Stuart Noble and Mark Gilhaney have all sustained injuries to their hamstring, which is a real worry for us. It is a situation we don't need at this stage of the season and we really need these guys back.

The other topic up for discussion this week is SPL expansion.

I think the top flight in Scotland should be extended to 16 or 18 teams to make the league more exciting. And I'd marry that to the introduction of a summer league as a way to give our game a much needed boost.

More fans would come out in the summer months and games on a Friday night, for example, could attract more people. More kids might be likely to go along too.

Watching the same fixtures time and again each season must be boring for the fans. Clubs at the bottom of end of the SPL know each other that well they just cancel each other out.

And at the other end, the Old Firm can be playing each other half a dozen times a season if they meet in the cup competitions, which they often do.

Change is needed, some people don't like that because they are stuck in the dark ages but it will be needed if our game is to improve.

Next week, I'll give you my reaction to the Cowdenbeath and Stenhousemuir games and tell you how tough it is for a part-time team trying to survive in the First Division.

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