Dundee fans left nobody in any doubt about whether they would like to see Shaun Byrne in their team or not.
The reception he got when he replaced Joe Grayson early in the game against Raith Rovers on Saturday told you everything.
Shaun was cheered onto the pitch.
He went on to show he’s still a very good midfielder and played his part in a crucial win for his team.
I’ve written in the column before that I had absolutely no doubt that Shaun is the type of character who would be a great in the dressing room, whether he was playing or not.
Shaun Byrne 😍😍😍
— Nicola Ironside (@nicola_ironside) November 12, 2022
The fact the manager told him he was willing to let him go in the summer wouldn’t have affected his attitude and professionalism.
Gary Bowyer also deserves credit.
He’s included Shaun in his squads recently and we all know there are plenty of managers down the years who haven’t done this after they’ve decided a player can go.
Man-management is a crucial part of football.
There are plenty of games to be played before the January window opens and a fit Shaun Byrne is too good not be featuring regularly for Dundee – or anybody else in the Championship – in my opinion.
The fans can expect to see a lot more of him, I reckon.
Two wins in a row have come at just the right time for Dundee.
I had them down as heavy favourites to win the title before a ball was kicked and I haven’t changed my mind.
There have been a few teams at the top so far and the chopping and changing might continue for a while yet.
All the contenders will have their bad spells – and at Arbroath, we’re hoping to extend Partick Thistle’s for another week.
But I can’t see past Dundee for the title.
I was sorry to see Gary Irvine lose his job at Forfar.
It was his first job in management and hopefully he gets another shot.
That Forfar have gone down the experience route makes sense.
I don’t know Ray McKinnon well but he’s got the sort of pedigree in the dugout that will be needed for a battle to stay in the SPFL.
It’s understandable that the directors got twitchy when they saw their club sitting at the bottom of League Two.
Drama. Passion. Pride. 🌹
The Rosey Posey showing what the lower leagues are all about 🤝#cinchL2 | @BonnyriggRose pic.twitter.com/zX6R36H3Kv
— SPFL (@spfl) November 14, 2022
Forfar don’t have the look of a side in freefall and Ray has got enough time to make sure they stay up and never get in that position again.
There’s no such thing as a World Cup break in the lower leagues so I haven’t been paying much attention to who will be the favourites out in Qatar.
Shoe-horning the biggest tournament in football into the middle of season feels as wrong as we thought it would and it will be interesting to see whether it helps or hinders the European nations.
My gut instinct is that the winner will come from the big two in South America – Brazil or Argentina.
Lionel Messi has been back to his best with PSG recently and these finals will have been his focus since he left Barcelona.
Fifa and the hosts don’t deserve it – but Messi lifting the World Cup would be a dream ending.
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