Managers post St Mirren

Link to audio of both managers` post match comments

Allan Johnston agreed that the results was good but the performance was especially welcome. The Pars manager described it as different class and praised his players attitude in bouncing back from a sore defeat at Cappielow the previous week:-

"A lot of people questioned the boys character after last week when we were 2-0 ahead against Morton and let that go. It was a great response to score three goals against a quality outfit like St Mirren. It speaks volumes."

Joe Cardle pulled up after just a quarter of an hour with what looked like a hamstring problem and David Hopkirk was brought on in his place. The manager commented:-

"Joe has scored a lot of goals and has been a massive player for us since the start of the season. Hoppy came on and had a great chance before he scored but he showed a lot of character finishing it off.

"There were a lot of good individual performances today, guys like Ryan Williamson picking out (David Hopkirk) for the second goal. He caused them all sorts of problems in the wide position. I thought Declan McManus was outstanding today and caused them a lot of problems. I don`t think we had any failures."

It is always said that scoring just before half time is a big influence on matches. AJ felt that his team had plenty of other chances as well:-

"They put us under a wee bit of pressure in the second half by just playing long balls but we handled it really well and picked them off. It was good to score another.

"You can see how important wins are in this league. It is still really really tight but you can see the quality that we have on the team and we just need to make sure that we keep the momentum going."

Asked how significant was Kallum Higginbotham`s contribution was, Allan said:-

"He is a top player but we have got top players right through the whole team. Guys like Nicky Clark who is going to score goals, Declan McManus and we have attacking threats with people who can score goals. That is hopefully what will push us on to stay up near the top of the league."

What does it mean to the manager to go top of the league again?

"It is always great to be top of the league at this stage. We would rather be there than not be there, put it that way. We just have to make sure that we approach every game, working as hard as what we have been. You can see the quality that we have got when we go forward."

Asked about the injury to Joe Cardle, the manager said that they would just have to wait and see how he is tomorrow.

"We will assess it but it looks as though he has hurt his hamstring. Hopefully he is not out for too long because he has been a really big player for us since the start of the season.

"That is the first time he has ever really been injured. Joe doesn`t really pick up many injuries.

"I cannot speak more highly about how the boys played. They played with an energy, passed the ball really well and created chances. It is always good to get a shut out as well."

The Pars league home form must send warnings out to opponents:-

"It does but you just need to look at the league table, you would think with winning these games you would be miles ahead but it is still really tight. You cannot take anything for granted in this league. Anyone can beat anyone and you have to be firing on all cylinders to get a win."

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