SEETHING supporters, scathing critics, explosive agms?
Tommy Craig continues to face more flak than a Lancaster bomber but the St Mirren manager yesterday declared that he is the "luckiest man in the world" and insisted that the fury of the fans must not be directed at his players.
Having watched his struggling side rack up just eight points from their opening 14 matches in the Scottish Premiership, Craig is hoping tomorrow's William Hill Scottish Cup encounter with Inverness Caledonian Thistle can offer a much-needed change of scene from the drudgery of the league campaign and provide the catalyst for an upturn in fortunes.
"I tell people that I am the luckiest guy in the world," said Craig. "I've never had to work for living. My mum and dad had to work for a living, I don't. This isn't work, this is coming in every day with a smile on your face to work at a terrific facility with an academy next door. I come in every day thinking, 'Wow'. I can't tell you how great it is to wake up every morning and come in to face the problems we face. If it wasn't me, it would be someone else and has been.
"I owe it to myself and the people around me to stay strong and I will do. What happens is everyone gets tense. Our players have got a good relationship with the fans. They have been supportive and I just feel they need to stay together. As long as they are directing their criticism at me, that's fine. The support of the players is uppermost. I hurt like the fans, like the board, like the staff. Of course I hurt, but it stays within me."
Chic Charnley, the former St Mirren player, echoed the feelings of many supporters when he stated earlier in the week that Craig should be given the heave. "I totally dismiss it," added a defiant Craig. "If it puts a loaf of bread on someone's table using my name, I don't have a problem with that."
There is some good news: three of his key players - Steven Thompson, John McGinn and Isaac Osbourne - are "very, very close" to a return to front-line duty.
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