Our own version of nine in a row

I've just joined Row Z's fine team of bloggers - and what a time to start!

Nine games unbeaten, including seven wins, and a thrilling 3-3 draw at Ibrox.

We hung on a bit yesterday after a flying start against Aberdeen at Tannadice. But now Sir Craig has added that steely resolve to our undoubted talent and flair.

As a natural pessimist after years of under-achieving and false dawns, I'm starting to feel a tiny bit confident. Hell yes, I haven't felt this good since the giddy days of the 1996-97 season, when we went on a 13-game unbeaten run under Tommy McLean that included eight league wins in a row and helped us to a third-place finish.

There's more than a few similarities between that team and the current one. We signed a full back, midfielder and striker out of nowhere who went on to form the backbone of an exciting side. Erik Pedersen, Lars Zetterlund and Kjell Olofsson cost less than £500,000 in total but rapidly became fan favourites.

This season, we added Paul Dixon and Scott Robertson from Dundee and Francisco Sandaza from Valencia's reserve team - and they didn't cost a penny. Dixon and Robertson are hugely impressive and look as if they've been playing in the SPL for years and the Sandancer is finally coming on to a game after a sticky start.

Hibs at home on Wednesday will be another toughie. Maybe it's time to give one or two of the lads a breather and bring the Prince or Danny Swanson into midfield.

This year we've got strength in depth and Jon Daly must be knocking on the door for a return too, especially if Sandaza doesn't recover from his knock on Saturday. Roy O'Donovan didn't do himself any favours by racing off the pitch on Saturday without acknowledging the fans or his team mates. He doesn't seem to happy up here and I think he may be heading back down the road to Sunderland at Christmas.

The last word goes to Lucasz Zaluska, who's turning into our most solid keeper in years. The way we're defending, he's often only getting a handful of touches in a game. But he's pulled off some stunning saves in recent weeks and against Aberdeen plucked a couple of crosses right off Lee Miller's head to help out his back four.