I hope you had a great Christmas and are set for a prosperous new year. My Christmas dinner was a wee bit different this time as I had a three-legged chicken from the Dounreay co-operative farm. It tasted lovely once it was micro-waved and it gave me a nice warm glow for about four days.

At the time of writing Hibs are leading the first division by a margin of eight points after drubbing Raith Rovers. The games against Ayr on Boxing day and Raith on January 2nd were fantastic performances and demonstrated emphatically why Hibs are the best team by far in this division. A scarier milestone was reached a few weeks ago by defeating Clydebank as this was the first time Hibs had won five games in a row since 1980. I was absolutely staggered at this statistic as it confirmed that the decline we are in has been going on for much longer than I had thought. It is now that the reality of our plight is plain for all to see, especially with the aforementioned New Year derby game against Raith Rovers. The New Year game is easily the most anticipated game of the season for Hibs and Hearts fans and its loss leaves a huge gulf which Raith Rovers and Dunfermline cannot hope to fill.

I see the most boring show on earth "Sell Us Yer Fitba' Club Fur Sweeties Fergus and We'll Gie it Tae a German Bank" starring Dalglish and Kerr trundles on. Apparently, if his TV interview is to be believed, the best way to do business with Jim Kerr is to put the kettle on first. If the consortium have their way he might even see fit to re-introduce the famous 'biscuit tin' accounting system.

Can someone please exlain to me what the term "Celtic-Minded" actually means. We are told that Jock Brown was not "Celtic-Minded" and therefore had to leave the club yet Jim Kerr et al are "Celtic-Minded". Some would argue that football is unique and that players should be prepared to give their all for the club and, to a certain extent, I would agree. In John Hughes and Pat MacGinlay, for example, Hibs have two players who undoubtedly play for the jersey so I guess that makes them "Hibs-Minded". However, I suspect these two players would be 100% committed to the cause no matter which team they played for. Could it be that in what we thought were enlightened times for the Old Firm "Celtic-Minded" means being a catholic? I certainly hope not as this would have precluded most of the 1967 European Cup winning team from being able to play.

On a lighter note I heard what I can only assume is a true story the other day. Dick Cheeseman, the manager of the football team from The Radgie Gadgie pub in Leith was telling his girlfriend, Betty Swallocks, about his most recent signings. "A huv just managed tae get Del Pierro" he proudly announced. "Whit, the gorgeous Alessandro Del Pierro fae Juventus" screamed Betty incredulously. "Naw, Luigi Del Pierro fae the chippy in Granton" said Dick. "A can also tell ye that we huv goat Bergkamp as wur new centre forward. "Ur you tellin' me that Dennis Bergkamp fae Arsenal is gonnie turn oot fur the Radgie Gadgie team" cried Betty. "Naw doll, no Dennis, it's Archie Bergkamp whae lives in the Fort" explained Dick. "Mind you though, tae partner him up front a huv signed Brattbakk" proclaimed Dick. "Ye surely dinnae mean the boy Harald Brattbakk fae the soapdodgers" Asked Betty. "Aye a dae" admitted Dick "bit o a bummer that a suppose"