ON Friday night Kyle Eastmond became the first Saints player to suffer the ignominy of being booed off by home fans since Paul Davidson gave the Popular Side the Harvey Smith treatment back in 1999.

Unlike Davidson, who never played for Saints again, Bath-bound Eastmond has eight months to win over those disgruntled fans.

Admittedly, there are plenty of folk out there who don’t want to see Eastmond wearing the red vee for another eight minutes, let alone months.

Ill-feeling has been brewing against the young scrum half, but on Friday it came to a head.

Hopefully the news that he has signed for Bath will lance that boil.

There are three reasons why Eastmond was given flak during and especially after the Warrington defeat.

The first was his performance. He threw some shocking passes and was reluctant to take on the line, which was a major contribution to the poor way Saints played.

Of course, there is mitigation on that one – the lad has not played that much since June and is he still getting up to speed following two off-season ankle operations. And on top of that the steady hand of senior half back partner Leon Pryce was missing.

That excuse will only wash for a few more weeks – Eastmond has to get a grip on the field, take on the line and get his shirt dirty.

Secondly was his attitude. The strop Eastmond threw at Ade Gardner after the winger dropped his awful pass was completely out of place in this Saints squad. Actions like that can have a corrosive effect on team spirit.

As fed up as he was with the defeat (weren’t we all) there was absolutely no excuse for him not joining his teammates at the end to thank the people who shelled out their hard-earned dosh to (partly) pay his wages. He has, of course, said sorry.

The third is more debatable - but there is a sense of ingratitude and almost a feeling of betrayal. The lad we had hoped would be groomed into a long-term replacement for Sean Long is departing barely into his second year of wearing the number seven.

It is a shame. When we first saw glimpses of Kyle Eastmond as a kid, destroying Wigan in the academy and then transferring that into the first team, there was a buzz of excitement.

Here was a lad with pace – in a team that severely lacked it – and player who could make the crowd roar. Eastmond is, or certainly was, box office material.

Although we all knew, like Long was when he first joined, that the young Oldhamer was a few years short of becoming the finished article he had something about his game.

The club thought they had a solution to their key position and a charismatic figure who would help fill the new stadium – but now they must start the search again.

It is going to be a tough time for Eastmond – and that could affect the team.

Once the knees have stopped jerking we have to accept that, short of a big lottery win and a relaxation of the salary cap rules, Eastmond is the team’s best option at seven for the rest of the year.

But if he does not pull his finger out I don’t doubt for one minute that he will find himself dropped and that place given to Jonny Lomax or Lee Gaskell.

So let’s call off the posse and see what the next six weeks bring from him. Over to you, Kyle.