Brannigan was accompanied by two players, captain Danny Ferry and striker John Gemmell, before a relatively small gathering of fans, as well as several other players and committee members. Still, the turnout itself was seen as decent, even though there was a reluctance from most to put questions forward. One reason for this was that most of what people wanted to know was answered by the coach and the two players from Keith McAllister's introductory promptings.
Kenny gave praise to John Gemmell for his goal on Saturday, but memorably described him as like a sheet of corrugated iron. His feeling that Gemmell possessed great raw talent is surely one echoed by most observers. His views on the set-up at the club were worth hearing: Kenny stated that a lack of step-up from youths to reserves, then first-team, had stilted the progress of certain young players. His reasoning for this being the case was that previously there had been too many players at the club, too many not needed and not pulling their weight, and his obvious intolerance of this was shown when he released several such players within a week of taking over. Clearly, this abundance of first/reserve teamers had lessened the chances of younger players getting run-outs at those higher levels. Kenny also gave vent to his belief that a player should know within a couple of days of a game whether he was playing or not, in order to prepare accordingly for it.
When asked about potential new signings for next term, Kenny hinted that certain new players were definitely on their way. He expressed a desire for more experience at the club, and although not entirely clear on this, it appeared that he wished for more of a balance between young talent and old heads: the team has been rather over-endowed with the former in recent times, though of course this has largely been unavoidable. Kenny felt that it would be better all round if younger players could complete their footballing education at Queen's, then, if good enough, move on to better things: this would provide benefits to both the players and the signing clubs, as well as Queen's Park.
Kenny spoke of the need for greater dedication in the players, and cited Mark Cairns as an example of the type of player he wanted at the club, given his attitude to such novel ideas as folding your kit properly. When asked about Derek Scrimgour, the so-far unused keeper, Kenny replied that the player needed to regain his appetite for the game and decide if he was really willing to keep his career going: the prospect of a new start outside football had seen his career in the game stagnate a little.
Brannigan also provided his opinions on the wider world of football and his past career. Clearly, he is not a fan of agents, though admittedly Queen's have less reason than most to deal with them. He also re-iterated that the game in Scotland is in obvious danger because of limited finances all round, and expressed surprise that Stirling Albion, for example, are paying certain players so much money. The gap between Queen's and others has blatantly narrowed and being amateur, instead of being a hindrance, is now something of a blessing for Queen's Park.
His own career was touched on: Kenny bluntly admitted that he had been a "terrorist" as a player, and that although he had possessed no pace and limited skill, his fitness and heart had kept him going. He emphasised, however, that his aggressive style of play would not influence his managerial attitude; and nor would his own lack of style as a player. Brannigan is patently unimpressed with the quality of play in the Third Division, believing that only Peterhead are a good footballing team, and that most sides prefer the direct, no messing approach to the game. Kenny said that his own Queen's Park teams would always attempt to play football properly, but simply, believing that an uncomplicated approach to the game resulted in increased confidence and fluency for the players and produced more success; and few could really argue with that.
Danny Ferry and John Gemmell also spoke; Danny said that playing wingback on a lengthy pitch like Hampden was particularly difficult: he also emphasised his frustration at the lack of consistency the team has shown this season, also believing that luck hasn't really been on our side: compared to the championship season, when we got more breaks, albeit largely earned.
Both players seemed genuinely positive about Kenny Brannigan's methods and character, and the future for the club, with John Gemmell confidently exclaiming "promotion" when asked about the prospects for next season.
The appearance of committee man Malcolm Mackay at the table saw matters become a little more heated. Malky more or less demanded questions, and soon received them. Asked about the length of time Kenny Brannigan would be given in the job, Mackay skirted around the issue somewhat before coming out with the idea that he would be here until the end of next season at the earliest.
He also gave some insight into the Iain Munro fiasco, refusing to state that Munro had actually been offered the coach's job but saying that the reason that the story had appeared in the papers was purely for reasons of journalistic speculation and conjecture, while most fans had been suspicious of an insider feeding the stories. Mackay said that around eight men had been interviewed for the coach's job, as well as some more showing an interest but not being considered. One who applied was Brechin City defender Harry Cairney, and Malky hinted that he could yet arrive at the club in some capacity.
Mackay was then asked about the scouting set-up at the club, which he defended rather obliquely, and crossed wires then prevented a proper answer to a query about the state of the Hampden surface: Malky did state that Lesser Hampden is likely to be converted to a synthetic pitch at some point in the future, and when then informed that it was the "big" ground that was in question, simply pointed out that there was little that could perfect the situation.
On the whole, the "meet the boss, players and commitee" session was well worth attending: if only to get a glimpse of the personality of the new coach. He seems a totally straightforward character, and I must say that hearing him speak frankly and independently in the way he did gives me confidence of future success.