I have to say that, as I'm about to turn 31, the last two games haven't been kind to the old legs. With the weather we've been having recently the pitches have been really heavy and I've been waking up on the Sunday with aches in places I never knew existed.

If I'm feeling like that, goodness only knows how Derek Townsley felt after his 90 minutes against Albion Rovers!

Well, there has only really been one person dominating the front and back pages of every newspaper up and down the country since last Wednesday - I give you Thierry Henry.

I honestly can't believe the furore this incident has caused. We've had demands for the game to be replayed and even Damien Duff blaming Adidas.

I think the officials have got away with this big-time as well. Without doubt, Henry is the main culprit but this was a massive decision - and a completely obvious handball (twice) - and neither the referee nor assistant were in a position to call it correctly.

It was a shocking decision to allow the goal to stand. I really do feel for Ireland and their supporters but I genuinely believe that anyone else in Henry's position would have done exactly the same thing.

As far as I'm concerned, it was complete instinct. It doesn't make it right but it was a natural reaction and any one of us would have reacted in the same way.

I'm not sure anyone actually believed that Ireland would get the opportunity of replaying the game. Whether that's down to believing Platini and Blatter really were high-fiving each other at the result I don't know.

But let's just say it was replayed, where would things stop then? There are incidents going on all over the park in games every week where players try to gain advantages over their opposition and there are decisions potentially costing clubs points because of this. We'd have clubs contacting their respective associations every other week.

What I can see happening from this incident is the five officials per game being rapidly introduced to reduce the risk of it happening again.

Platini has already trialled the idea in the Europa League and, let's face it, had there been an official behind each goal in Paris that night, Ireland might have been heading for penalties.

Personally, I'm not one for tinkering too much with our game - players are already barely allowed to tackle these days and it's not only my partner, Laura, that doesn't know what offside actually is anymore. But if it meant major mistakes costing clubs and countries then, for me, video technology might be the way to go.

It's done in other sports so why not football too? I was watching Murray v Federer on Tuesday night and it's exciting waiting for the decision on the big screen and the fans get right up for it as well.

There is a lot of thinking to be done and I'm sure the subject or something similar will be on the agenda when the men running our game meet two days before the World Cup draw.

I'd just like to finish this week by congratulating our under-19s on their first victory of the season. The young team faced the long trip to Elgin on Sunday and came away with a superb 4-1 victory.

It's been a long time coming and hopefully the hard work of coaches Buff, Ronnie and Jimmy is finally paying off. I'm sure there have been times of enormous frustration but they are a team who were quickly put together for the debut season in the SFL, pretty much like the first team, and everyone involved deserves credit for their efforts.

I trained with the boys a couple of weeks ago and not only was the training superb but there was a committed bunch of young players there and you could tell they were enjoying things, even though results weren't going there way. That's testament to the guys helping the kids and I hope they can really kick on from their win at Elgin.

See you next week.

And we may not be too far away from a restructuring of our football north of the border with the introduction of a pyramid system, which would see promotion and relegation into the Scottish Football League.

I touched on this subject a few weeks ago but since then draft paperwork of how the system would work has been drawn-up.

I have to say that in its early stages it looks a little complicated but it would certainly work. It's been suggested that a vote by the 30 SFL clubs could be imminent, although SFL chief executive David Longmuir has warned that the realisation could still be years away.

There are obviously going to be pros and cons for such a drastic change but the fact that the SFL are willing to open up access to the Third Division is a positive step.

I know our chairman at Annan, Henry McClelland, was always very supportive of the pyramid system before we were accepted in to the SFL and I'm sure that won't have changed, even though our place would be under threat.

Football in Scotland has taken a lot of flak recently and it's nice to have, what is in my opinion, some positive news.

Club's willing to accept any proposals put forward to them are going to have to spend a bit of money to have their grounds upgraded and meet the current criteria but hopefully their will be funding in place to assist the ambitious clubs that want to progress.

There isn't a lot of money in the game right now and the financial aspects are a worry for most clubs.

It was interesting to hear that my hometown club, Queen of the South, are looking into the possibility of upgrading Palmerston Park to come into line with the requirements of the SPL.

The Doonhamers find themselves at the top of the First Division and really mean business in their attempts to gain promotion this season.

Queens' home gates have, this season been between 2,000 and just over 3,000 in the league and they attracted over 6,000 when Rangers visited Dumfries in the Co-operative Insurance Cup.

I've always found it hard to understand why there is a requirement for SPL clubs to have all-seated stadium with a capacity of 6,000.

Why force clubs to spend unnecessary finance when the probabilities are they might only ever fill it up when the Old Firm come visiting?

It's obviously more complicated than I'm making out but in simple terms, if the stadium passes the necessary safety requirements does it matter if there are 3,000 or 6,000 seats?

Just down the road from Dumfries, consistency is proving to be a bit of a problem for us at Annan just now after we lost another game on our travels, this time at Forfar Athletic.

Another two disappointing goals were conceded in a crazy five minute spell that left us chasing the game and in the end it proved just too much for us.

We had a few chances in the second half after David Cox scored for the third game in a row but in my opinion it would have been undeserved as we were very disappointing in that first half.

We started brightly enough and had a couple of chances in the first few minutes before we hit self-destruct.

I wasn't happy with my contribution for the first goal and it left me very disappointed after the game.

We've now got some important and winnable matches between now and 2 January, including four at home.

The next couple of months should tell us quite a lot about where our ambitions will lie for the rest of the season.

Welcome to the world baby Torrin Findlay Clark. We're a very close, big family and Gary and I are more like brothers than cousins, so I've been very excited about the new arrival for a long time.

I can't wait to finally see Torrin awake - the wee man certainly likes a sleep!

It went without saying that I travelled to East Stirlingshire on Saturday morning with a spring in my step and looking forward to the game ahead.

That bounce immediately disappeared when we got the news that the club's honorary president, Simon Aitken was seriously ill in hospital.

Simon was obviously on our minds as we prepared, and all we hoped for was that we could give him a wee lift by winning.

But, just as we were taking to the field, we got the devastating news that he had passed away. Our victory is without doubt dedicated to big Simon.

He always had time for everyone, a true gentleman, and he will be sadly missed around the place.

At 86, he wasn't the quickest of movers and I had some great laughs with him when I would tell him not to bother getting off the bus to watch the match because he wouldn't make it back on in time when the game was over. He used to tell me he would still take me on any day. My sincere condolences go out to his family.

I like to think that having Simon in our thoughts on Saturday pulled us through to get that fantastic win against East Stirlingshire.

The second half performance was night and day from the first and the away dressing room wasn't a pleasant place to be at half time.

The manager told is in no uncertain terms that the first 35 minutes of the match were unacceptable. The boys were lucky that Harry lost his voice after ten minutes or we would have had another five to suffer!

We got the win thanks to two great finishes from David Cox - who at long, long last got his first competitive goals since joining the club in the summer.

Anyone at the game would have seen how much it meant to Coxy and I think it showed how much the players want him to do well when you seen our celebrations with the wee man. I've honestly never seen any player work as hard as Coxy but things just haven't happened for him in front of goal.

It looks like Saturday could have been a turning point for him after he scored another brace for the reserves at Queen's Park on Monday.

I'd like to make an apology to the players and staff at East Stirlingshire after our post-match celebrations.

A few of the players got a little carried away and started cheering in the corridor before we made it to the changing rooms. This should never have happened but it was in no way meant to be disrespectful.

It was more in relief at picking up our first away points of the season.

I don't want anyone to think I'm making excuses as it was wrong and we'll make sure this doesn't happen in the future.

I didn't see any tips for my first visit to the races on Sunday, so I just had to soldier on myself. I did manage a couple of winners as well as an each-way success but wasn't any better off than when I started.

This is perhaps because my partner, Laura, collected all "our" winnings and I never got to see them. Why am I not surprised?

Thinking back on our attempts to qualify for the competition over the years, before we became an SFL club, I remember far more disappointment than celebration.

In those days we used to have to qualify via the aptly named Qualifying Cup. We had to reach the semi-final stage to reach the first round proper.

When I joined the club, late in the year of 1997, we were preparing to visit Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Cup third round.

Although I knew I wouldn't be involved (I hadn't even played a game at that time) I was still very envious when my mates left me behind.

It was made easier as I told myself I would be involved in many a game like the Inverness one. Well, I've managed only two in my 12 years - against Brechin City in 2000 and then against Morton in 2006.

Here I am in 2009 and I'm sitting waiting for news of the third round draw when Annan Athletic's name will be missing once again.

Too many times over the years we have let ourselves down by either not performing or thinking games were won when the truth was the hard work was only beginning.

I dread to think how much money we have cost the club in my time here. It's quite ironic that we were watching a film called Déjà Vu on the bus to the game because that's exactly what it felt like after the full-time whistle.

Make no mistake, we should have been professional and experienced enough to see that game off with a bit to spare.

I don't mean to be disrespectful to Cove as I'm sure they would have said the same had they been in our position. One goal up and a man advantage, I'm sorry but we should never have lost and the blame lies firmly at the feet of us players on the pitch.

We had the opportunities to put the game to bed before the equaliser but, as has been our main problem this season, we simply didn't take our chances.

Craig Sommersgill has already taken the blame for the two bad errors that ultimately cost us our place in the next round.

Big Sommers has to live with that and the fact he might now be out of the team, but I hope the rest of us are looking at ourselves because the game should have been wrapped up and we wouldn't have had to worry about errors at the other end.

I was at Stranraer with the reserves on Tuesday night and we had the same problem as we drew 2-2 to drop our first points in four games.

Honestly, some of the chances we missed were truly incredible. I suppose the good thing is that we are at least creating chances and when that stops we really do have a problem on our hands.

Another disappointment to come out of our defeat at the weekend was that we didn't get to enjoy the homemade tablet of Granny Anson.

I've mentioned before that the worst player at training has to bring in biscuits for the boys at the next session. It was Scott Anson's turn last week (long overdue, by the way) and he produced amazing tablet that his granny had made.

She sent him up to Cove with another batch on the condition we only got to enjoy it if we won.

We know how that turned out but at least I know who I'm voting for biscuits this week.

Finally, I'm making my debut at the racing this weekend and being honest, I haven't a clue about the horses.

I'm not a betting man at all so I'll be sticking 50p on the ones named after my missus and wearing fancy outfits! In saying that if anyone has any tips for Carlisle on Sunday, you know how to reach me!

The manager had them watched at the weekend and we will look forward to training on Thursday night to prepare and give ourselves the best chance of progressing through this difficult fixture.

I'm sure we will be down on paper as being the favourites to win the game, but I can assure everyone that no-one within the club is taking this for granted and I have already said in a previous blog that this is a fixture we would rather have avoided.

I've been on some websites and read some articles on the game and it's certainly true that Cove see this as a chance to avenge the decision to allow is into the Third Division last year.

It'll add a bit of spice to the game and I fully expect it to be a tight encounter.

Going into the game, I think we will have some good and bad news in terms of players available.

Mike Jack should be back from California in time to catch the bus on Saturday morning. Jacko has been away playing in a golf competition after winning at the Belfry a few months ago.

I think he was hoping to miss Elgin away, but no such luck mate.

Derek Townsley also came through a reserve game on Monday night with everything except his pride still intact.

I would try to explain the hilarious events on Monday night as the big man homed in on goal, but I just wouldn't do it any justice, although the laughter ringing round Galabank pretty much said it all.

On the negative front, David Cox is unlikely to be available because of a broken nose and that is obviously a big loss to the team. It wouldn't surprise me to see the wee man in a Phantom of the Opera-style mask though.

Our confidence is high going into the game this weekend after another hard-fought win in our local derby against Stranraer on Saturday.

As was expected, there wasn't a great deal between the two of us and we just managed to scrape a victory after Lewis Sloan had worked hard to win a hopeless cause and cut the ball back for Bryan Gilfillan to score his very first tap-in.

I gave Gilly a bit of stick for saying in the press that he doesn't seem to score tap-ins, so it's only fair that I congratulate him on his 10-yard open-goal finish - although, to be fair, it looked like he tried his best to miss it!

I'm going to give Lewis a special mention this week in the hope that it picks his chin up from the floor. The wee man is a cracking player when he's on his game and he has made a difference for us coming off the bench in our previous two home wins.

Just like the rest of us, he wants to play every minute of every game, but he has been in and out of the team for the last few weeks.

On the pitch, he has been responding in the right manner, scoring the penalty to put us in front against Montrose and then laying the winner on a plate for Gilly at the weekend. He knows he probably reacts in the wrong manner sometimes when he isn't in the team and this goes against him the following week.

The manager has spoken to him, as have numerous players, including myself, and I firmly believe that, if he can change this one thing about himself, he will go on to be a fantastic player for us this season and maybe even progress to a higher level. I believe he is that good.

This may not come as a big surprise as people will say that they are basically a Third Division side with First Division players and they should have no problem with regards being promoted.

Livi still have to get the job done and will face some difficult away games throughout the season but I just can't see them dropping many points on their home turf at all in the remainder of the season.

Their midweek defeat up at East Stirlingshire apart, they have won five from their last six games and have a home game to come this weekend. I'm not taking anything away from the other clubs in our league but I just don't see many teams coming close to them when it comes to playing football.

They have some terrific players and every one of them is comfortable on the ball. Even in tight situations when you would expect them to go route one, they continue to play their way out of trouble.

It was a hard shift for Steven Sloan, Bryan Gilfillan and I in the middle of the park but I enjoyed going up against David and Robbie Winters. For me they were the pick of the bunch and their touch and movement was worthy of a much higher level.

Our 17-year-old striker Phil 'same old' Storey is a great prospect for the club and he could do a lot worse than learn from the Winters brothers. For some reason, Phil asked for a mention on the blog this week so I'm going to contact Sky Sports, who were there filming, for a copy of our game last night especially for him - watch and learn mate.

It's easy to see I was impressed with our opponents on Tuesday night but things are far from doom and gloom after our defeat. We want to win every game we play but we're also realistic and we knew taking anything from the game at Livingston would be a bonus.

I mentioned last week that we wanted to take six points from our next three fixtures - well we're still on course for that after our victory at home to Montrose last Saturday.

The game itself wasn't pretty. In fact, I'm glad I never had to pay to watch it. There aren't too many games in this division that are all about silky soccer and more often than not you have to roll the sleeves up and put in a shift. We did that on Saturday and eventually our efforts paid off and we got a couple of good goals to claim a much-needed three points.

I was both surprised and delighted to be back in the team. With Mike Jack missing the Stranraer game and a few injury niggles to contend with, the manager felt a few changes were necessary and thankfully I got the nod.

It doesn't really matter how your chance comes along, you just have to make sure you take it and hopefully I did. It wasn't the best performance I've had but I dug in and worked hard and also had a hand in both goals so I felt positive after the game. I obviously kept my place for the Livingston game but Stranraer is another day.

Finally, it was interesting to read SFA chief executive Gordon Smith's comments in the press about how possible changes to the league structure were being discussed at the top levels. It would be great to see some form of pyramid system in place to allow for promotion and relegation into the Third Division.

This was something we always hoped for while Annan were participating in the East of Scotland League but perhaps our thoughts have changed now!

Seriously, I think it would be a very positive move and let's face it, Scottish football certainly needs freshening up. It will be music to the ears of ambitious clubs like our friends at Spartans and Scottish Cup opponents, Cove Rangers.

I'm sure it will be a few years away yet but I fully expect this to happen and maybe even before we see the Old Firm in the English Premier League!

We played a fantastic side in the semi-final and they really do have an incredible squad at their disposal.

Obviously, we wanted to win the game but it was always going to be a difficult task and in the main we were determined not to embarrass ourselves as players or as a football club and I think we managed that.

We received a standing ovation from our supporters after the game and I think they appreciated the difficult job we faced and also the effort and commitment every one of the players put in during the game.

You should know that your support for the team was greatly appreciated and we look forward to more of the same in the coming weeks.

Looking over into the stand and seeing the Dundee players missing made me realise the extent of the challenge facing us.

Still, I'm sure they were thinking exactly the same looking across at our dugout, with me sitting there!

It's fair to say there were a few tired legs at our reserve game on Tuesday night and I've never seen as much ice on the go as the physios did their best looking after all the lads' aches and pains at Dens Park.

We kept the score down to 3-0 and that was a credit to the defensive job we did as a team.

Dundee enjoyed the bulk of possession and the number of shots they had on goal was incredible. But most of them were from distance and, apart from the goals, there weren't too many clear cut chances offered to our opponents.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my 45 minutes after coming on for Mike Jack at half time.

While I was watching the first half I felt that we were giving possession away too easily and were maybe panicking on the ball. Towards the end of the first half we began to improve and we were certainly better in the second half and even managed to create a couple of half chances.

Now that the cup run is over we must focus on the league for the next couple of weeks.

Before we face Cove Rangers in the Scottish Cup we have three games in seven days, with two of these coming at Galabank.

I have no doubt that each of these fixtures will prove difficult but it is very important to our season that we aim to pick up at least six points from the nine that are up for grabs. We want to be at the top end of the table and to do that we have to start picking up points as there is already a little gap developing.

We are getting things right at one end of the park after three league clean sheets on the bounce but we need to start scoring at the other end to start turning these draws into victories.

As it stands, we are the second lowest scorers in the league with one more goal than our next opponents, Montrose... I'm sure a goal feast lies ahead at the weekend.
We are still waiting for our strikers to hit their first league goals of the season and Saturday would be a good place to start.

I mentioned our reserve game earlier and the boys put in another good shift and an even better performance as we managed a 5-1 win against Partick Thistle.

Phil Storey did his chances of a recall no harm with a hat-trick with Lee Hoolikan and Mike Jack also scoring in a match that gave some of us some much-needed game time and an opportunity for others to give their confidence a boost.

It was important to find the net and the quality of some of our goals was outstanding. Let's keep our fingers crossed that we have saved a few more for this weekend.

And to think that a little over 14 months ago we were looking forward to travelling to places like Easthouses and Selkirk.

As it is, we have the small matter of a national semi-final, the Alba Challenge Cup game against Dundee at Dens Park.

As we look forward to this massive game, I'm sure everyone involved at the club, particularly the chairman, Henry McClelland, is casting their minds back to before we won our place in the Scottish Football League.

Regardless of the result, it should be a very proud day for everyone involved and I'm sure we'll have a few supporters travelling in the hope we can pull off a major shock.

I'll be honest and say this was the draw I had hoped for, although I had my fingers crossed for a home tie.

Before you think I was getting carried away thinking Dundee would be the easier of the ties, that's not what I meant at all.

In fact, I think we have the hardest draw possible. I simply felt that it would have been the best draw for the club.

I had been emailing Dundee and former Annan striker Colin McMenamin and he was confident that they would have brought 1,000 fans down to Galabank. That, added to a healthy home support, and it would have been great from a financial point of view and also for the town.

It's always great to meet up with former team-mates and it will be good to see Colin at the weekend. Unfortunately for him (although not for us), he won't be available for the game as he damaged his ankle ligaments a couple of weeks ago.

But it will be good to catch up all the same. We need a bit of a chat anyway because we're currently organising his wee brother Gary's stag do to Tenerife next year.

I've not seen Eric Paton for a couple of years either since he left Queen of the South. I played in the same team as Eric for Rangers' youths many moons ago and he has gone on and had a really good career in the game and is a fantastic player.

He's not the only one. In fact, the boys were going through their squad at training on Tuesday and we couldn't believe the players they had.

It's a tall order we're facing. But, at the end of the day, it's 11 against 11 and we'll give it our best shot.

News has just reached me that we will once again be travelling up and down the country in the second round of the Scottish Cup.

We've already been to Inverness and Elgin this season and it's a difficult trip up to face Cove Rangers this time.

It's early days and we don't know too much about their side right now, but any trip to the Highlands is difficult and I'm sure we would have hand-picked a different draw.

I'm sure the manager will do his homework and have us well prepared to give us the best opportunity of reaching the third round.

We've not been too successful in terms of Scottish Cup runs in all my time at the club and it's definitely one of my biggest disappointments we failed to qualify on so many occasions.

The new format gives us a better chance of a wee run and, without looking too far ahead, if we get through the first tie, I'm looking for a kind draw before the big boys come in.

The chairman has been telling me for years we would pull a Rangers or a Celtic away. Well, my time's almost up, and this could well be my last chance, so it's now or never, Henry!

Although, personally, it wasn't all I had hoped for, the boys dug deep in the second half to secure a point that didn't look possible after our first half performance.

It would have been interesting viewing to see Andy Gray looking through the possession and zonal statistics from the first 45 minutes as we struggled to keep the ball for long periods.

All credit to the players as they worked their socks off and we had three incredible chances that left everyone with their heads down and disappointed to come away with only one point.

Bryan Gilfillan and Mike Jack both came close when goals seemed a certainty and then Phil Storey had the chance of the match with the last kick of the game. Unfortunately, he screwed his shot wide after doing brilliantly to get into the position in the first place.

I hope the wee man doesn't get dejected and I'm sure he won't because he's a confident boy. In fact, it's easy to forget that he is only 17 years old.

I was correct with my thoughts that the manager would tighten things up by sacrificing a striker and putting an extra man in midfield for the Hampden trip.

Unfortunately I was wrong to suggest that I might have been that man - how silly of me.

That's now four matches where I've not moved from the bench and I'm struggling to understand why that is after the three games I played prior to this period.

It would be an understatement to say they have had a bad start to the season. I'm good friends with Ryan McGuffie up there and we had been joking with each other in recent weeks about who was more desperate for the points.

I really hoped that Davie would be given the time to turn things around but unfortunately the Raith Rovers defeat was just one too many and he's paid the price.

I've a lot of time and respect for Davie and I'm sure he'll be back in the game in the not too distant future.

I know I got into a wee bit of trouble from a few readers last week that were none too happy about my main topic being the antics of Emmanuel Adebayor.

I will apologise in advance, but there was no way I could complete the column this week without touching on the Manchester derby.

What a game! And I only managed to see the highlights on Match of the Day.

I was really looking forward to a Super Sunday out in Aberdeen but my partner Laura came down with food poisoning over the weekend so I did the good thing and stayed in for most of the day. I say most because I managed to sneak out for the second half of the Chelsea game when she was asleep!

I'll just finish off by wishing Queen of the South good luck for Wednesday's game when Rangers come to town.

Dumfries is pretty quiet as I write, but it will be a lot busier and more exciting as the day develops. I was going to watch the game at home but I might just venture into town and sample the atmosphere. After all, I did miss out on my Super Sunday...

The big chap was involved in just about everything press-related in the build-up to his first match against Arsenal since signing for Manchester City. His actions during the game, rather than his performance, have kept him on the back pages.

First off, I didn't think he played that well. He scored his goal and had one unbelievable run that Wright-Phillips should have burst the net with - apart from that, I thought he gave the ball away too much and was pretty average.

If I was an Arsenal fan, I would have been more wound up by City's match announcer blasting out his name as man of the match than his goal celebration.

His former team-mate was very lucky to walk away with his sight in tact. Adebayor will, of course, appeal his violent conduct charge for the incident, but I don't think it will wash with the guys at the FA and fully expect him to receive a two or three match ban.

Unfortunately for the Togo international, I can see him sitting on the sidelines for a further two fixtures when he is also found guilty for his improper conduct charge for his goal celebration.

I'm sure footballers can understand why he celebrated in that manner, but it was simply unacceptable for the away support within the stadium and very nearly caused a riot.

Adebayor obviously feels aggrieved at the way he was treated by the Arsenal fans while still at the club (maybe Arsenal fans can enlighten me on that subject) and he was subject to verbal abuse during the game, but in light of recent crowd trouble I just don't think his behaviour will be accepted by the powers that be.

The funny thing is that, had he scored at the opposite end, it wouldn't have been an issue. If it hadn't been for that incredible full-pitch run to get to the supporters of his former employers, there wouldn't have been a case to answer.

I mean, he didn't leave the pitch, didn't take his shirt off and there were no obscene gestures. It's all ifs and buts and the fact is he celebrated in that manner and will have to face the consequences. I just hope he doesn't score at the Emirates.

On to matters closer to home, we finally picked up our first win of the season against the league leaders at Annan on Saturday. It was a much-needed win and, although Forfar fans may disagree, I think we just about deserved the victory.

I'm sure anyone at the game would tell you it was a cracking game and the only surprise was that there was only one goal in it. Jack Steele was our match winner and the three points and the performance sets us up nicely for the visit to Hampden this weekend.

I can't see the manager making many changes for the game against Queen's Park as it was a decent team performance, but I've got my fingers crossed that he might want to tighten things up in midfield and give me the nod.

I've been out for three, in for three and back out for three, so here's hoping it's my turn again starting on Saturday.

It was great to hear the Champions League tune again on Tuesday and, although neither was too exciting, both Chelsea and Manchester United got the job done and the first three points are in the bag - as well as £700,000 in the clubs coffers - and hopefully the other three British clubs make it five wins out of five.

Finally - just in case any of the Annan boys are reading this before training on Thursday, make sure you bring your purses. I've taken on the unenviable task of trying to collect the fine money that will go towards our Christmas night out and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Some of the lads have been good, but I'm having a bit of trouble with Bryan Gilfillan and David Cox and their debt is creeping up. Could be time to set up the direct debit lads!

Well, I don't think anyone that witnessed our victory at the weekend would disagree that it was a good old game of two halves. The most important thing was to get ourselves into the semi-final of the Alba Challenge Cup and we were successful in that but we certainly put our supporters through the ringer in that first half.

I'm sure Elgin fans will agree that the performance of both teams was night and day in each half and they might have been disappointed to go in only 2-0 up at the interval. But what a turnaround from our players in the second 45 minutes.

Bryan Gilfillan got us off and running with a typical long range effort (he doesn't score tap-ins you know) and immediately you could see the confidence and belief return to the players. The manager made two changes at half-time and both Graeme Bell and Alan Inglis made massive contributions with the goals that put us ahead before Phil Storey rounded off a superb come back with a great individual goal.

It's great for everyone at the club that we've got to a national cup semi-final but we must put that to the back of our minds and really get ourselves going in the league.

We have many difficult fixtures coming up and they don't come much harder than Forfar and Queen's Park. We simply must pick up a victory in these next two games. So we will look forward to the semi-final draw (praying for a home tie) and after that, get on with the bread and butter.

We now know the Third Division line-up will stay as it is for the remainder of the season after Livingston's appeal was rejected by the SFA panel. It's never nice to see a football club in trouble and this is no different. You feel for their fans as they have had difficulty in the past.

When you play at our level, it is always a boost to players when you come up against bigger clubs. You can never get enough of playing at the better stadiums with excellent playing surfaces and that's what everyone will get when they visit Almondvale.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, while I would rather Livingston's financial troubles weren't there, Annan Athletic are certainly looking forward to pitting themselves against Livi this season. Honestly, there is a compliment in there somewhere!

See you next week.