I also didn't post. Wasn't sure where we would finish but I was pretty confident it would be between 7th and 10th.

My concern with appointing Courts was that he was a proven coach in terms of running good training sessions - particularly in youth development - but he had none of the "street smarts" that come with managerial experience. I expected him to get outsmarted by many of the more experienced managers, and in the 2nd and 3rd rounds of games, I think he often did. But thanks to a strong showing in the first round of games, and also results of teams around us going our way almost every time for the entire season, he had enough of a cushion to see him through a trying few months. And to be fair, over the past few weeks there are clear signs that he's learning, thinking outside the box and making good tactical decisions at the right times in games. He also clearly reads the forum, as he pushed Mulgrew up into midfield as soon as I suggested it, and that change has worked (IMO).

The other thing, which I don't think has been mentioned, is the players must have confidence in him because they have never downed tools. If training was shite or he was talking a load of bollocks before matches and at half time, I think we would know about it. Yet despite the lack of experience that I thought he would really struggle to overcome, the players have kept the faith. In terms of league position, the season is definitely a success and surpassed most people's expectations. For me, we are 2nd out of 10 - impressive, given where we were not long ago. I'd be surprised if Aberdeen and Hibs are as ineffective next season as they were this season and it won't take much of an improvement in them to push us down to 4th out of 10. Hopefully some quality incoming will give us a bit more threat. Right now, I'd be very happy to finish next season with 54 points (6 more than this season) and a positive goal difference. That could put us anywhere from 1st to 4th out of 10 (aka 3rd to 6th). Also happy for Courts to be given the chance to take us into Europe, where anything beyond that first round is a bonus IMO.