DoonhamerDon

I've tried to predict the fixtures for the last 5 games to see what is required for QOS to sneak that last play-off place. I've gone with a sort of minimum required approach, assuming teams generally lose to Falkirk, Dunfermline but win matches against lower teams and then it comes down to head to heads. Airdrie 58 QOS 57 Edinburgh 56 Alloa 55 Airdrie beat Montrose and Edinburgh, lose to Falkirk, Dunf and QOS Alloa beat Kelty, draw with Montrose, lose to Falkirk, Dunf and QOS Edinburgh beat bottom 3, lose to Airdrie and Falkirk QOS beat Alloa, Airdrie, Montrose and Kelty, lose to Dunfermline I think we definitely need 12 points from 15 and one of them really has to be Alloa. Would leave us finishing the season with 25 points from last 30 available - incredible form if it came off! It's still really unlikely and its too reliant on Falkirk winning games again for my liking (they will likely drop points to Alloa, Airdrie or both and if they do then we are probably out of it) but not impossible. Would deliver an incredibly tight run in though. Airdrie and Alloa in the driving seat though as said - I think both probably only need 6 pts from last 5 games to do it and possibly less if either of those wins are against QOS As echoed by most QOS fans, just very pleasantly surprised to still be talking play-off possibilities with 5 games to go. Pre-Marv fully expected us to be in Kelty's position.

I think the Manager of the Month curse doesn't hold a candle to the "Alloa in General but especially at Recreation Park" curse for this one (Diddy Cup aside) 1 league win in 13 againt Alloa, last away league win in 2015 It's like us vs Edinburgh!

Airdrie 2-0 Montrose Alloa 2-1 QOS Falkirk 1-2 Dunfermline Kelty 2-2 Clyde Peterhead 0-1 Edinburgh

I'm genuinely just loving that we are still talking about chances of playoffs at this stage after writing off the season a few months back. It could stop at any point - as said not winning today would end things - but just enjoying this improved run and seeing where it takes us.

Just need a win to keep the momentum and postivity building. Chance to extend current run to 3 wins in a row and 13 pts from last 15 Chance to "clean sweep" a second team this season after last week vs Edinburgh Chance to keep the play-off conversation going for another week at least One game at a time and all that but as said a win here makes the Alloa game huge. Sneak past that one, then we've got a Dunfermline team who likely just clinched the title 3 days earlier.....you never know!

Alloa 1-1 Airdrie Clyde 0-2 Falkirk Dunfermline 2-1 Kelty Edinburgh 2-1 Montrose QoS 3-0 Peterhead

Much more fun spending time trying to work out elaborate playoff permutations than wishing the season away - thanks Marvin We will come up just short but signs of improvement clearly there. That's 16 points from Bartley's 9 games in charge now. Replicate that form across the season you're at 64 points. Not enough to win the league but enough to probably be comfortable playoffs behind Dunfermline and Falkirk which is where most fans had us aiming for at the start of the season.

5 wins from 5 and a 15-1 aggregate score. Absolute textbook "can we play you every week?"

Clyde 0-3 Airdrie Edinburgh 1-2 Queens Falkirk 2-0 Kelty Peterhead 0-3 Alloa Montrose 0-2 Dunfermline

Hopefully the win at the weekend and our good record against Edinburgh so far means we are going into this one with confidence. Play-offs remain very unlikely (not enough games to overtake two of Alloa, Airdrie and Edinburgh IMO) but if we can build some momentum and finish as high up the league as possible hopefully that bodes well for next season. We need a lot of recruitment in the summer and it would be good for Bartley to be able to point at a run of results to the end of the season and let potential new signings know he has a plan, it's working and we are heading in the right direction.

Missed your reply but agree Paton is the exact example we should be looking to replicate. Your point on standing out in a side going for promoton is valid - hopefully MB can convince prospects that is what we will be doing next season! My concern is he joined us after a season finishing 6th in the Championship - in the same scenario would he be looking to join us this summer after likely finishing 7th or 8th in League One? Ayr, Morton, Thistle and Falkirk certainly look more attractive prospects for FT football now then they did that summer.

Our focus needs to be on youth prospects and being a gateway into FT football from lower divisions like Paton has been or will be once he moves on. Players with a higher ceiling in their career than League 1. It's not easy and takes a skilled recruitment team and a good eye for a player's potential but just competing for the same job lot of journeyman FT players as everyone else, but often paying the lowest, will/has been getting us nowhere.

Great summary of the problems we've been facing - didn't Wullie literally say his plan was to go for quality over quantity? Seem it was just his initial idea of quality was totally off so paniced and went with numbers. Super frustrating to write off yet another season - I thought we had a chance if MB hit the ground running but apparent the club needs a bigger overhaul than just a new GK and CB. Easy to say run with a smaller squad and increase per person budget to attract quality - I also hope we go down this route - but your last sentence is the big worry for me.

Airdrieonians 3 Peterhead 0 Alloa Athletic 2 Clyde 1 Dunfermline Athletic 2 Edinburgh 0 Kelty Hearts 1 Montrose 1 Queen of the South 0 Falkirk 2

Hoping for some momentum and a win but given the frustrating up and down nature of our season so far it would be very QOS to lose this. I think our best unbeaten league run this season has been just 3 games Any semblance of optimism or positivity this season has been quickly extinguished. (see Clyde on day one, Falkirk & Dunfermline matches in Sep, Alloa A in Oct, Kelty in Oct, Dec and Feb for just some examples)

Airdrie 1-0 Kelty Clyde 0-2 Queens Edinburgh 1-1 Alloa Peterhead 0-3 Dunfermline

I said a month ago we would need at least 6 wins, likely 8 or 9. I still think that's a step too far and the dream died with the Kelty defeat last week. But happy to keep things mathematically alive as long as possible and end the season strongly. Games like Airdrie at home are the ones we need to be winning consistently next year and just haven't this year at all.

Dunfermline Athletic 2 Alloa Athletic 1 Falkirk 3 Peterhead 0 Kelty Hearts 1 Edinburgh 2 Montrose 2 Clyde 0 Queen of the South 1 Airdrieonians 1

When we were recruiting there was a lot of discussion about how the new manager would get a free hit as we were safe but with no real expectations of promotion. The "only upside" angle was seen as an attractive position for a new manager to find at a new club. How we start next season is the yard stick, with summer recruitment being a massive test. I don't think we can judge MB fully with this squad, even with a few additions. However, I do see how we do until then as an indicator for how much pressure there is on Barley to get a positive start to next season and the way we are going at the moment by the summer there will be zero margin for error and any benefit of the doubt will have dried up. If we have a bad start to next season it won't be "give him time to let his new squad gel etc" it will be "we've been crap for 9 months"

Obviously wish Gavin all the best for the rest of the season. Hope he bangs in a hat full of goals and comes back for next season all the better. Sadly I think the pretty rapid decline through the divisions is most indicative of a wider issue. Premiership to League Two in 18 months is never a good sign. I can't say at all if it's attitude affected but I do think loss of pace compared to early years is a likely factor. 70% of his total career goals came during first spell with us and the one great season with St Mirren in 17/18. He's averaged just 4 goals a season in the 5 years since then. Most disappointing is I think the perception that I had which was we are getting a Championship quality striker for League One. I hope Stenny fans don't get the same hopes/expectations dashed as well.

Airdrieonians 2-2 Falkirk Alloa Athletic 1-1 Montrose Edinburgh 1-1 Clyde Peterhead 0-2 Kelty Hearts Queen of the South 1-3 Dunfermline Athletic

In full support of Bartley's approach in that interview. He's in a fortunate and incredibly rare situation of having absolutely nothing to lose. Players chuck it, down tools and we lose every game this season - what happens? We finish 8th - the same place we started incidentally - and he knows who is up for it next season and who isn't. Fans arent going to turn on him until it's his team. His recruits seem an upgrade on what they've replaced but that is probably more an indicator of the very low bar! A near full overhaul of the squad would make for a busy summer and the pressure for next season might be slightly higher but that beats keeping on players clearly not up for it.

Clyde 1 Peterhead 1 Dunfermline 1 Airdrie 0 Falkirk 2 Alloa 1 Kelty 1 Qos 2 Montrose 2 Edinburgh 0

As fans we like to speculate on the rest of the season, plot potential runs and look at all the permutations of what everyone else is up to. I know I do. However, I hope (and believe) Bartley has the team focused on one match a time - try to get three points - then move onto the next game. Just try to collect as many points as we can and where that takes us by season's end we shall see. As has been said - while signs are good and my optimism is up - Bartley's team hasn't really done anything results-wise that WG didn't - yet.