The match today, fleck and aluko

I have to say that upon my first look at the line-up today i was incredibly apprehensive as to how the match was going to go - a feeling that was compounded when Lafferty limped off with only eight minutes gone.

And so it is with slight surprise, albeit incredibly pleasant surprise, that i write this article after witnessing what was undoubtedly our best performance for some time. There was no shortage of positive signs - Davis seemed back to his best in midfield, Healy put in a decent shift up front and scored what was a well-desevred goal, and Bartley put in a display which was more than enough to convince me that he is a far better option at right back than either Whittaker or Broadfoot. Add to that the impressive performance of Lee Wallace on the left wing and there was a lot to be happy about indeed.

Yet it was the performances of Fleck and Aluko that left me most pleased. In the case of Fleck, it just goes to show what happens when you play a player in his preffered position - in most cases they deliver the goods, and this was no different. He controlled a large amount of our attacking play, and his passing in particular was at times a delight to watch. Although he needs to put in performances like this more regularly to prove to us that he is the player he was once tipped to be, i feel that it is absolutely ludicrous that we are considering sending him out on loan when he can provide us with that little bit of creativity that we have been so desperately craving in recent times. Aluko, on the other hand, was electric on the wings, looking dangerous whenever he had the ball, and against all odds is proving to be one of Mccoist's best signings, certainly better than any of the other midfielders purchased over the summer.

I felt the best compliment that could be paid to the team was that Jelavic was not missed at all, in fact it could be argued it was partly his absence that enhanced the performance so drastically. If we do recieve a bid upwards of £7million then i feel that we should just accept it and reinvest in other areas of the team.

All in all, a very surprising yet encouraging performance, which has left me feeling a lot more confident about the remainder of the season, and made me think that maybe we can still achieve four in a row after all. And as if there wasn't anything to improve it further, even Salim Kerkar got a run out!