SPL Fanzone: The fans have their say SUPPORTERS from the 12 SPL clubs give us their views on the past week for their team and the various fortunes or misfortunes befalling them. Our final match before the winter shutdown against St Mirren was another draw and the game was pretty evenly contested, so it was probably a fair result. In my opinion, though, both penalty decisions were dubious and the referee didn't get much right the rest of the game either. That said, we underperformed again. We can only imagine how far up the table Kilmarnock would be if we had been playing at our full potential over the winter period. I am not in the least surprised that there has been no mention of the fantastic support we took to Paisley. After selling out our initial allocation we were given a section in the West Stand as well and the record books show that the top attendances at the Buddies" new stadium are when we visit. With over 2,000 in attendance, that was almost half our normal home support! Our dip into the January sales came as a surprise but we are pleased to have secured the signature of defender Danny Devine from Wrexham. With the long-term injuries to Chris Hogg and Simon King it gives an uncomfortable feeling that one of these two will not return to the field in an ICT shirt. We have no cover at the back just now and Danny can play at full-back or centre half, so it is a good signing for us. With the January sales come the inevitable rumours, which help to relieve the boredom of the winter break. Our biggest concern just now is the possible loss of manager Terry Butcher, who has been given permission to speak to Barnsley. Terry has built a strong team here that is still on for a domestic treble, so it would be a shame to throw it all away. Without wanting to sound like a cynic, the latest proposal for league reconstruction won't work. Scottish football's administrators shy away from making real change. In reality only two changes of any note have ever been made - the addition of a second division in the early 20th century and the change from a big league to a wee league in the mid-1970s. The "top" clubs, i.e. those who happen to be in the SPL at the moment, will refuse to countenance the loss of income which would come with league expansion so the deckchairs will be re-arranged on the Titanic once more. At least Motherwell had a positive announcement of sorts with the Well Society co-opting three new board members, and there is no shortage of work for them to do. With the SPL on a brief winter hiatus, we get a break from a seemingly endless line of defeats. There's only so much a fan can take. We have taken only one point from seven games since our purple patch in November, when Barry Smith might have been named Manager of the Month but for that defeat at St Mirren. The gap left by the lack of onfield action has been filled by speculation about the future of Smith and possible signing targets. Well, Barry is staying for the foreseeable future, surely the correct decision by the board. And among the latest names linked with Dundee to bolster our injury-hit and feeble-looking squad are our former midfielders Gary Harkins and Scott Robertson, who are streets ahead of anything we have in midfield at present. Harkins would be welcomed back with open arms. I'm not so sure about Robertson. The biggest talking point after our narrow win over Motherwell was the penalty spot. If it's not where the ball is meant to be placed, why is it there? What could have been even more damaging was that two of our four bookings came from Celtic players pointing out the fairly obvious. A later mis-timed tackle, or poor view by the referee, could have brought a second yellow and then we're penalised without appeal for a referee's inability to do the basics. Celtic have started transfer business early and signed an international centre-half in Rami Gershon. And in time for the absence of "The Fear," as Efe is away to the African Nations Cup. This prior planning and preparation will never catch on! Hopefully, a few of the fringe players can be moved on and the signing of a "Lubo" type of player can be made in time for the Juve games. Creativity is badly needed in midfield! Hearts went into the winter break with a frustrating scoreless draw against Hibs. It had been clear from the statements coming from Hibs pre-game that they were going to come and play for a draw, and that was exactly what they did. Unfortunately, Hearts didn't get the breaks required to score the first goal, despite some decent chances and a stonewall penalty claim waved away by the referee. On another day we would have won that game comfortably and McGlynn would have his first derby win but that will now have to wait until our third visit to Easter Road this season. By the time we play our next game there could be some further departures from the squad. The end of the transfer window can't come quickly enough so we know what we have for the remainder of the season. Perhaps Romanov will pay the outstanding bonus money and we can bring someone in, but I'm not holding my breath. With the mini winter break now started, the attention of a lot of fans is turning to the January sales and to whom their club is linked. The fact is, though, that none of the clubs have much money to spend, so transfer fees will be few and far between within the Scottish game and I expect that the majority of moves will be either loan deals or free agents. In the recent past, Ross County have generally looked at players already within the Scottish game, but, if rumours are to believed, then we are widening the search, with players reportedly on trial from Norway, Denmark, Ireland and the USA. While I feel we do need players for certain areas of the park, it is reassuring to hear that players are coming on trial first so that Derek Adams can assess them and I am sure he will only offer them a contract if they are better than what we already have at the club. The atmosphere inside Tynecastle for last week's Derby match provided a fantastic backdrop for the biggest game in Scotland. Sadly, the match turned out to be a bit of a let-down, but Pat Fenlon will surely have been the happier manager after watching our back four play a major part in us heading back to Easter Road with a well-deserved point. As we enter the winter break, our mid-season report card should make better reading than many Hibs fans dared hope for at the start of the season. However, the transfer window will surely hold the key to where we eventually finish in the table. With three of our best players - Griffiths, Claros and McGivern - all reaching the end of their loan periods, Hibs fans have the all too familiar sense of foreboding about the future. It may be too much to hope to retain the services of all three but, hopefully, something can be sorted out. John Robertson Only Cammy Bell stopped us making it two wins in a row last week. He was in superb form and it's clear to see why the Killie goalie is in such demand. We were only able to find a way past him with a penalty but I'm not sure what Kenny Shiels" was so angry about - it was a clear foul and certainly more worthy of a spot-kick than the one his side got in the first half. With the winter break now upon us, we have to turn to transfer rumours for entertainment. There will be speculation about Kenny McLean and perhaps Paul McGowan, but the latter is likely to stay until the end of the season. We're also going to need a left-back as Paul Dummett has gone back to Newcastle. It was great to see him make his debut for them in the FA Cup on Saturday, but his appearance against Brighton has dented our chances of getting him back for the rest of the season. Well, the holiday season is now over, with just enough time for Jamie Langfield to gift Dundee United a goal before the decorations were packed away. Now with the winter break upon us, activity during the transfer window is all we have to entertain us for the next couple of weeks. Rumour and counter rumour seem to spread like wildfire amongst fans during these windows, with claims that some players are definitely leaving the club on one hand balanced by the stories of other players being spotted house hunting in the local area. Truth is, there is likely to be very little activity in the SPL this month, and there are more probably going to be more exits than arrivals. Well, we finally got a win on the board. That's about the only positive we can take from last week's victory over Dundee. The performance was woeful. So many basic errors and mistakes from virtually every player. Luckily, Dundee were worse. Looking forward, we restart the league campaign with two tough games, away to Motherwell and home to Celtic. That's not ideal. Our performance level needs to improve dramatically and, crucially, we need to start taking the umpteen chances we are creating every week. Whether Steve Lomas is in charge for the games against Motherwell and Celtic remains to be seen, of course, following the news that he has been linked with the vacant post at Doncaster Rovers. It's always a good sign when your manager is linked with a move away, but let's hope nothing comes of it. Last week in this column I predicted we'd struggle to contain Aberdeen's Niall McGinn given the way our defence had been leaking goals and, sure enough, he stopped us taking all three points. But I suppose a draw at Pittodrie wasn't a bad result and, hopefully, the boys can kick on after the winter break. And we'll need to kick on if some of the fans are to get off Peter Houston's back. There's a bit of a split in the support right now over whether Houstie is still the man for the job. Some believe the manager has missed a trick this season and didn't bring in sufficient replacements for the likes of Swanson and Dixon. Others reckon unfortunate injuries to key players such as Gary Mackay-Steven have played a part in a tough opening few months to the campaign. It's probably best he's fully judged in May.