DreamOakTree1

If Dougie gets back to his usual positive self and motivates the players, we can win this one. Jack Bearne had the right attitude in his post-match interview. That’s the spirit we’ll require in our next two matches!

You make some valid points there Chippyminton. I'm surprised though to find that fans of similarly placed clubs have similarly modest ambitions, or perhaps they're just being realistic as you say. My question was really meant to ask fans of other clubs what their board's targets are, or three year plans if they have them. We could then compare these with the Morton board's targets. I stated that I thought there would be around 20 club boards with higher ambitions then ours, but from what you and some other fans are saying, that may not be the case.

If that was the case then why would I be barred from the Morton Forum for telling the truth? Similarly why would you bother responding? Anyway outside of these forums some people do happen to care what I think. I made the exact same point at work and everyone gets it 100%.

Brilliant heart on his sleeve article by Brian Graham in today’s Sunday Mail, best I’ve read for a while. I’ve followed his career since he broke through at Morton and was given an unfathomable time of it by our fans. I told his Dad Danny that Brian has a 1 in 3 scoring rate throughout his career, and he replied “1 in 2”. I looked it up and he’s correct! Phenomenal return at every level he’s played at! When he scores against Morton he celebrates like a maniac, which I love about him! Not against my club but against some of our horrible so called fans.

So did I when I read Dougie’s pre-match statement!

I thought Dougie’s (out of character) pre-match statement about being potentially dragged into a relegation battle, played right into ICT’s hands.

Dougie's pre-match statement was completely out of character to the extent I knew we were losing the match before a ball was kicked. It was inexplicable for him to express his worry that we could be dragged into the relegation battle, and that we were three points away from our target of safety. Big Dunc must've thought his team talk was already done for him, as he would surely have told his players to go for an early goal to cement the negative mindset Dougie had given his players. This on a day when we could've gone into 3rd place, was almost unfathomable from Dougie. I say almost because the only reason I can think of is that Dougie was worried about making the expectation levels too high, which could make him victim of his own success. He could be looking at the board's target of 16th place in Scotland and thinking our best run in years has got us to that position and he's maybe got us punching above our weight. So subconsciously or otherwise he wanted to get everyone's feet back on the ground, and the direct unavoidable consequence was the run ending. This is the polar opposite of him stating before the Scottish Cup Draw "We'll take anyone at Cappielow". You could see the players starting the game against Motherwell with the belief that Dougie had given them, just as you could see them start yesterday's match on an absolute downer. I hope I'm right that this is just a one off error by Dougie, and that he get's back to his natural positive self before Tuesday's match.

I can’t really disagree with any of that. However the “vagueness” as someone mentioned, of a targeted top 16 finish doesn’t fully meet the model of realistic, achievable and specific, as it is very unspecific. If, as you’ve alluded to, the board are aiming to consolidate our position as a top end Championship club over the next 3 years, and then move on from there, then perhaps there’s something tangible in that plan. I would also be encouraged if privately they are aiming a bit higher than that and don’t want to raise fans’ expectations, as Dougie and the coaching and playing staff appear to be doing.

Are they both out?

And you are an absolute arsehole for not getting it!

f**k it! I’m taking the job if they still want me! We need to ramp up our ambitions as there’s no way I’m accepting that there’s 15 teams in Scotland better than Greenock Morton! Absolutely no chance! If I believed that for a second I wouldn’t be a Morton Supporter! I don’t get that negative attitude at all!

I applied for the job with the targets I’ve stated, and turned it down as I felt I was too old to fulfil the 5 year plan I’d given the club, which was way beyond the top 16 scenario. The only way I could accept it now is if I stop drinking completely, as that’s my downfall. If I do that then there’s no way in a million years that I’m targeting top 16 as My ambition for Greenock Morton- No Way!

My minimum target would be top 12 in Scotland. Anything less wouldn’t get me out of bed in the morning!

Just to be clear - when I read that our target (not to be confused with ambition) is top sixteen in Scotland, I was absolutely devastated. It’s the most pathetic target I’ve ever seen in my life in business or supporting Greenock Morton. In short I can’t believe it to the point I’m wondering if it’s worth even turning up at Cappielow.

I just want to check with the fans of other clubs what you feel your ambitions would be as a club. Do you see your club as always striving for promotion to the top flight, but not quite getting there, or do you feel that you really belong in the top division? The reason I ask is that I’ve expressed my displeasure at our club’s three year plan, which targets top sixteen, or 16th place in Scotland, as the height of our ambitions.

100% correct. You deal with the cards you’ve been dealt with and go as far as you possibly can with the resources at your disposal. I always said it was my Project Teams that succeeded s and made me look good, and they loved going for the goals I’d set them. For some reason I was always given the team members no-one else wanted, and I said I’ll take them as I knew if you gave them a target and trusted them with it then they’re deliver every time. It’s not rocket science, it’s knowing how to manage and motivate human beings, whilst your competitors are only doing the same thing.! You just need to do it better than they do.

Cheers M8 I’ll go for that!

I get exactly what you’re saying VT, but I’m preaching what I’ve always practised in my own career. My initial ambition in school was to be a Ship Drafrsperson, then Project Engineer, Project Manager and ultimately Head of Projects. I can tell you I only achieved those goals by setting high targets and striving to achieve them, safe in the knowledge that my competitors were only human beings with similar targets as myself. That’s the only possible way I could’ve done it. I can see a similar determination in Dougie Imrie and our current squad, that convinces me into believing we should be setting the bar as high as possible within the resources at our disposal. When Alex Ferguson took over Aberdeen, people questioned his sanity when he said he ‘d conquer the Old Firm. You guys need to realise that daring to dream means daring to succeed.

I’ll go for that. Starks is one of my favourite away grounds, possibly my top one, but I just can’t get there on time from work. Can You play the stream back later as I won’t be home in time for kick-off?

No I didn't mean we should be targetting first place in Scotland, that was just an example of how I feel an ambitious mindset can push you to a better place than you might otherwise achieve. The plan is achievable as you say, but cannot by any stretch of the imagination be called ambitious. I just feel that our 3 year plan should target top 12 as an absolute minimum. Anything less is setting the bar so low it would hardly make you want to get out of bed in the morning.

I get all that and perhaps it's me who's being a bit unrealistic. However I waited a few days to post my response to the announcement, as I was aware I could leave myself open to criticism again. I also tried to measure my words for that same reason, but what I posted was what I personally feel. My daughter had her first job interview after leaving university. She told me there were five positions available so she was going for top five. I told her she had to go for first place, because if she fell just short she would still be in the top five. If she fell just short of a top five target then she wouldn't get the job. She went for that strategy and got the job, and has continued to get promotions throughout her career using that same strategy. Tagetting top five in my opinion creates a mindset of finishing 5th, the same as tagetting top 16 creates a mindset of finishing 16th.

I like the fact Our Board have published a 3 year plan. However, although it meets the three tangibles of measurable, achievable and realistic, it cannot in any shape or form be termed ambitious. How can We target a top 16 place in Scottish Football when that’s exactly where We are now? Why not move it up 3 places which would mean promotion to the top flight? Or at least go for incremental improvement each season until we achieve promotion? I reckon there are 20 other Scottish teams with higher ambitions than that, the current top 12 plus 8 others, who all target top flight football. That means if any of 20 those clubs approach Dougie Imrie for a management position, they can show they have higher ambition than his current club. When I put “Dream” in “DreamOakTree” my dream was of playing in Europe or winning a cup, not of finishing 16th in Scotland.

Thanks for the wonderful memories Andy. I actually changed my job so I would have a Saturday off to watch big Andy play home and away, and it turned out to be the right decision! The skills of Baxter, Murdoch, Johnstone and Dalglish all rolled into one player.

I only saw a goalkeeper and referee stop us from winning 3 or 4-0.

Was that Ryan Mullen taking shots from the QP subs at half-time? Surely not!?