Manager on Thursday
Thursday, 3rd Aug 201703/08/17: AJ - "We know that we will need to be at our very best to get a result. We are going to have to defend because they put you under pressure.
Manager Allan Johnston was pleased to have a new signing to confirm when he spoke to the media today, he said:-
"We are happy to get Fraser Aird on board, he gives us something different. In the wide areas we have Joe Cardle, Higginbotham and Paton but Fraser has got genuine pace and is a good addition to the squad."
The 22 year old Canadian internationalist signed after training for. Few days and taking part in a ` bounce` game. The manager continued:-
"He gives us flexibility as well because he can play left, he can play right, he is a full back and a wing back. There are loads of positions that he can play. It is up to him now to try and push the other boys to get into the team."
Attempts to make further signings have not yet come to fruition but AJ added:-
"It is difficult because we are trying to target boys who are trying to play in the Premier League. They are not ready to step down to the Championship because they are still hopeful that they can get moves to teams in the Premier League.
"We have targeted loads of players over the summer and it does take time when you are in the Championship and trying to bring in players who still think they are ready for the Premier League."
The manager was still on a high after the joys of last Saturday and winning the Betfred Cup Group B.
"It was brilliant, I thought the boys played really well. It was a good team performance and they showed a bit of character as well after going 1-0 down and managing to come back. To get the second goal put them under pressure. We caused them problems and we had to defend well at times.
"Through the 90 minutes I thought we were the better team. We caused them more problems than they caused us. It wasn`t until the last ten minutes when they started launching it into the box that it got a wee bit desperate. They were putting loads of people into the box and they put us under pressure but I thought we handled it really well.
"It will do a lot for the players` confidence to come through that type of game. We scored some really good goals, you will not see many better goals than Joe`s. It was an unbelievable bit of skill. He bent it round a defender into the corner.
"The second goal came when young Callum Smith made the run in behind and showed pace, strength and that bit of composure to pick the pass. Obviously Declan (McManus) finished off and that will help his confidence as well."
Declan McManus is suspended for the first two league games meaning he will be absent when the Pars Championship challenge kicks off at the Tony Macaroni Stadium against Livingston. The Pars manager travelled to Stranraer to watch Livingston`s win in the Betfred Cup and was impressed. He predicted that Livingston could be this season`s surprise package:-
"They have a style of play that suits them, they are not losing a lot of goals with three big Centre halves. They are a threat at setpieces, they get the ball forward quickly and they have some good football players as well - guys like Shaun Byrne who was here before.
"We know that we will need to be at our very best to get a result. We are going to have to defend because they put you under pressure. They have got big strikers, they hit diagonals and win headers at second balls."
The lessons from last season strongly emphasise the need for a good start and the manager recognises the importance of that but feels that his players are full of the necessary confidence:-
"You are going to get beat in football but it is about how you handle that. That is what we learned from the start last year. You maybe lose one game but you don`t let it become a habit.
"We need to put results together, we need to go away from home and win but we need to make East End Park a hard place to come. We must put teams right under pressure when they come here."
Dean Shiels is recovering from his thigh injury but Saturday might just come to quickly for him:-
"We will wait and see how he is tomorrow but he is feeling a lot better today. He never really did much so we just have to be patient. We have a lot of games over the next couple of weeks so the last thing we want to do is to throw him in too early and then he is out for four or five games. It is more important that he is fit and available rather that risking him for one game."
David Hopkirk played 60 minutes in the aforementioned `bounce` game and it is good to have options when the squad is so short of players to play upfront.
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