Or maybe not. Our form away from home is currently better than at Love Street. We've managed two wins both at home and on the road, but we've also picked up an extra two points on our travels. Plus our record at Love Street in 2007 has been woeful, producing just three wins. Maybe that long run without home games wasn't such a bad thing after all!
Nonetheless, a game against Falkirk breaks us in gently for what is set to be a tough month, with games against the likes of Celtic, Dundee United and Hearts to come in the course of the next few weeks. Sadly, we go into the game on the back of a narrow defeat to Inverness Caley Thistle, although the TV highlights show we did at least have a few chances. Said TV highlights also suggest that Will Haining was unlucky to be sent off - while the first booking was inexcusable, it looks as if he won the ball with the tackle for which he received his marching orders. Mind you, considering the officials gave a goal kick when Haining clearly diverted a shot behind means we shouldn't be too surprised. Saints boss Gus MacPherson was probably right to rant about the ref - for once.
Haining's red card means he'll miss out, meaning John Potter will almost certainly start his first game since early October. Potter was dropped to make way for Andy Millen and has been plugging away in the reserves since, although that didn't stop him signing a new contract. While the Haining-Millen partnership has worked reasonably well, it's a completely different matter playing Potter in there.
The good form of the reserves this season means that there will always be competition for places in the first team, with the fringe players helping the second string move ten points clear of everyone else. It was the turn of Chris Birchall and Alex Burke to score the goals in the excellent win over Rangers and surely at least one deserves a chance against Falkirk. However, Billy Mehmet should not be dropped - he's scored twice against Falkirk for Saints, including a winner earlier this season. Craig Molloy also played in the reserves as he nears full fitness, but is unlikely to feature tomorrow. Craig Dargo is back in training and Ian Maxwell could play in the reserves next week so, with Eddie Malone looking like staying at Dundee for another month, the only long term injury victim now is Richard Brittain. Fingers crossed it stays that way.
Falkirk are one of the few teams to find themselves below Saints in the SPL table, but were unlucky to lose to Rangers last week as they seemed to have a couple of decent chances. Rather amusingly we beat them twice last season - once to end a run of three months without a win in December, and the next win after that came against them in April! Let's hope if we win tomorrow it doesn't set us off on a similarly poor run of form.
Over the last few years, John Hughes has developed a reputation for spotting talented youngsters with Premiership or Championship sides, taking them on loan or offering them a chance to prove themselves when they've been released. Anthony Stokes was the perfect example of that last season, and in Tim Krul they have an excellent young keeper from Arsenal. They also have a number of their own decent young players, the pick of the current crop being Darren Barr.
Tomorrow's match should be a tight affair. With us struggling to score and Falkirk being quite attacking, I think they'll just edge this one 1-0.