Manager on Thursday

07/12/17: “"Hopefully at home we can put in a right good performance, get the crowd right behind us and get the goals that we are all looking for."

With just three points from the last fifteen available in the Championship, manager Allan Johnston is keen that his team quickly addresses what he describes as a `blip`:-

"We have been disappointed with results and the run that we are on. In the next couple of months there are a lot of big games coming up against teams round about us. That is an opportunity to get back on track and work our way back up the table.

"We are more than capable of going on a run. You are going to hit a blip at some point in the season, hopefully that has been ours and now it is about how we stick together and respond."

His comments come after a 2-1 reverse at Tannadice last Saturday but he saw positives in his side`s performance and fight back from being two down at the interval:-

"I thought last week there were really good signs in the way we played. We were really unfortunate not to get something out of the game. That is the type of performance that we are going to need if we are going to turn it around.

"The most pleasing part of coming through this blip is that we are still within touching distance. We know that we are capable of putting a run together, we just need to make sure that we get the wins that we need."

Next up are Gary Naismith`s Queen of the South, a side equal on points with Dunfermline, AJ continued:-

"This Saturday is a massive chance, obviously Queen of the South are up there as well and they have a lot of quality players, none more so than Stephen Dobbie. I went to see them a couple of weeks ago against Dumbarton and some of his flashes of skill were outstanding. He has a lot of experience and quality and we have to make sure that we snuff him out. We have a lot of good players as well so hopefully we can hurt them going the other way.

"Hopefully at home we can put in a right good performance, get the crowd right behind us and get the goals that we are all looking for."

The Festive period is always a key period and the manager stressed the importance of putting a run together. We have a good team spirit so there is no reason why we cannot do that.

"We are in a position where we can bring in one or two players, we have been looking at targets and it just depends upon whether they become available or not. We are just assessing that at the moment but if you look at the size of the squad we are down to the bare bones at the moment. A couple of fresh faces would do really well.

‘It would create a bit of competition to ensure everybody is playing at their very best. It would give us cover for any suspensions or injuries. We already have a good squad but obviously if we picked up a couple of suspensions or injuries we could be struggling a wee bit.

"We are going to try and bring in boys who are going to push us forward and maybe better than what we have got. We need to wait until nearer the time to see who we can bring in and who is available."

Availability for the match against Queen of the South is boosted with the return of Nicky Clark to training. In addition to the long termed injured Aaron Splaine, Andy Ryan will be the only first team squad member definitely out for the league match. Andy has started back running but still feeling his injury is not fully recovered.

Asked for a response to the Chairman`s statement re Dean Shiels, the manager said:-

"He has been very good to be fair to him. He did not let himself get distracted, which could quite easily have happened.

"He has had a lot of support right through the whole of Scottish football, from every club and supporters. I`m sure that will have helped him as well. It has been difficult for him but we have to make sure that we move on, focus on the football and go on a run to work our way up the table."

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