Only nine weeks after expressing his dissatisfaction with a 2-0 win at New St Mirren Park Tony Mowbray yesterday praised his side following a home victory over the same Buddies side. If truth be told, this performance was not a whole lot more aesthetically pleasing than that produced in Paisley two months ago but in light of recent results Mowbray accepted that taking all three points yesterday was the priority although he was still insistent that his footballing philosophy has not changed. 
- the long and short of it
The side took advantage of the Huns defeat at Pittodrie earlier in the day to go two points clear at the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League. "There was considerable pressure on the team." said Mowbray "It is to their great credit that they overcame any potential anxiety around the place and got a result. I thought the performance warranted the victory even if it wasn't quite what we wanted. I don't think being top of the SPL was the big thing psychologically for the team."
" This was about points regardless of what happened elsewhere." he said. "I've not changed my attitude, I'll always be a performance-related coach because good performances get results. We want to play with style but ultimately today was about points and it has been a good weekend."
Scott McDonald and Georgios Samaras were on the scoresheet yesterday whilst Mowbray's most expensive signing, Marc-Antoine Fortune, was dropped to the bench but the boss has no doubts that, in time, the ex-Nancy forward will prove his worth. "Before the international break Georgios Samaras was outstanding and his performances in general mean he deserves to start." said the manager. "Fortune needs to build confidence and minutes on the pitch. He knows he has to do the business but his quality will shine through. He's the topic of conversation because he cost a few quid but I'll let him do his talking on the pitch."
Another striker attracting Mowbray's attention at the moment is prolific FC Tours forward Olivier Giroud. The Celtic boss confirmed that he had travelled to France on Friday night to watch the hit-man in action and he was rewarded for the effort when Giroud scored his side's first goal in his sides 2-0 win over Angers. But yesterday Mowbray was unwilling to discuss his intentions with regard to the French Ligue 2 star. "We have made a lot of trips over the past few weeks that people aren't talking about." was all he would say. "It's part of a process to identify footballers."