He declared himself "thrilled" in the improvement in training routines over the last week in a quote on the official site. But he goes on to say that some players were "not as good as he was lead to believe" and that "there will be casualties as we look to establish a squad of 22-23".
If nothing else this Jeckyll and Hyde approach should guarantee that every one of the squad gives their all in the next few weeks. The continuing talk of the need for new players, whether it comes to pass or not, will also keep the squad on their toes. Whether this technique will be converted into performances on the park will be clear in a month or so.
The manager is also putting some pressure on himself with these statements. To raise the expectations of fans with talk of new blood and the removal of deadwood is fine as long as he can deliver. He will be aware that there is nothing predictable about the movement of players as the transfer deadline starts to draw near. If none of his hopes turn to reality he will have given a hostage to fortune and a poor start to the season will have the sceptics asking awkward questions.
Fans will be able to form some opinion of the changes in style announced by the manager in the forthcoming set of friendlies. Of course we know that these games are poor predictors of the upcoming season but nevertheless conclusions will be drawn. For the record the games are
21st July - Millwall at Fir Park (
24th July -
25th July -
28th July -