"THE boy can talk, eh?" said Danny Lennon, finally sitting down to offer his thoughts, having been made to wait while Mark Reynolds delivered his own assessment of the game.
The St Mirren manager, it transpired, was taught by the Aberdeen defender's father so was familiar with listening to the family wisdom, but this time it was the son delivering the lesson.
The 25-year-old's words were a perceptive attempt at identifying the reasons why his side find themselves in the bottom half of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League for a fourth consecutive campaign, but talking the talk has never been a problem at Pittodrie. Reynolds' refrain was one that had been delivered plenty of times by various players. All the key phrases were there – sleeping giants, wealth of the city, massive fanbase – but during these encouraging early days of Derek McInnes' reign it is tempting to think there is more substance behind the statements.
Granted, the current incarnation were only able to grind out a point in Paisley on what the Aberdeen fans had christened Gothenburg Day in celebration of their Cup Winners' Cup triumph against Real Madrid 30 years ago, but it marked a third clean sheet in four unbeaten matches for a manager who is already coming to understand the old expectations amid the new reality. "He's only been here a few weeks but realises games like that are why we are in the bottom six," Reynolds said, bemoaning a lack of quality in the final third. "If we were more consistent we would be up there challenging for a European place but the manager has identified a lot of the problems and brought in new ideas and enthusiasm.
"This club has underperformed for too long and this week has reminded everyone of that. Jim Leighton drives the bus to training and I think he's lost more medals than the rest of us have won. You forget that but there are so many fans who remember and, while we're not going to conquer Europe, we need to bring silverware back to Pittodrie."
Whether McInnes can do that for the first time in 19 seasons will depend on how he reshapes a squad Reynolds insists is the second strongest in the top flight. Decisions have already been taken on the futures of those whose contracts expire next month – Isaac Osbourne, Gary Naysmith, Chris Clark, Gavin Rae, Rory Fallon, Rob Milsom, Josh Magennis and Mitch Megginson – although those will not be made public until after the visit of Hearts. It appears, however, that the majority will be allowed to depart in order to give the manager the resources to recast.
To that end, he intends to assess a few youngsters on Saturday to judge their ability to bolster the pool, albeit not as many as he might have were seventh place already secured. Lennon, too, might adopt a similar strategy when he takes St Mirren to Rugby Park, this draw on Saturday having extending his side's run to nine league matches without a win. While more resolute on Saturday, they were insipid in attack and demonstrated little of the verve that earned them their last victory, seven games ago, in the Scottish Communities League Cup final.
The shame is that this encounter was a farewell to the Paisley public for several members of that team. Motherwell will open contract talks with goalkeeper Craig Samson this week after he rejected an extension, while Paul McGowan has intimated a desire to test himself in England, with Birmingham City thought to be among his suitors. He is expected to be joined in the npower Championship by Newcastle United loanees Paul Dummett and Conor Newton, with their parent club keen for them to play in the English second tier. Furthermore, Esmael Goncalves, Graham Carey, Sam Parkin and Chris Smith are also out of contract.
Then there's Lewis Guy, the substitute who was substituted after an angry exchange with assistant manager Tommy Craig. The Englishman has another year on his deal but, given Lennon's fury at the player's "disrespect", coupled with his failure to establish himself, it would be scant surprise should he leave, too. Regardless, Lennon will face a substantial rebuilding job and spoke of having already complied lists of transfer targets. Following word with deed, however, is a different matter.
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