Manager on Thursday
Thursday, 17th May 201817/05/18: Allan Johnston:- “It is always good when you get players on board.
“It is a difficult time of year when you are offering players new contracts and they are thinking about their futures. It is always good when you get players on board.
“I think it is a good start. Robbo (Lee Robinson) came in and since January he has been really consistent. You can see the quality that he brings to the team. His agility, his kicking and that adds a lot of competition for the goalkeeping place.
“Lee Ashcroft has probably been one of the most consistent players since I have been here over the last couple of years. He is still at a good age, he has to keep progressing but he has certainly been one of our top players so I am delighted to get him on board.
“Crags (James Craigen) has been part of the success since he joined in January. He has given us that wee bit of energy in the middle of the park. He is flexible, he can play different positions. So it is a good start.
“We are getting round all the players in the squad and talking to other players outwith the squad as well. Just looking at our options really, just the same as the players - they have that option as well.”
Allan Johnston | Today`s Signings | 17/05/2018
Thu, 17th May 2018
The manager confirmed the departure from the club of Michael Paton and 21 year olds Scott Lochhead and Conner Duthie. He added:-
“You have to thank Michael for his services, he was a big part of the success that we have had here so far. Hopefully he goes and does really well somewhere else.
“There are always changes at a club, that is part and parcel of football. You want to try and strengthen in certain areas and obviously we will take our time over the next couple of weeks to make sure that we get the right players on board.
“It is never a personal thing, you are just trying to do your best for the team. You look at the options that you have got and that is what we are doing, taking our time to make sure that we get the right players in because we want to be successful.”
Asked about reports in the media linking Nicky Clark and Fraser Aird with potential moves to other clubs, AJ responded:-
“There is going to be interest, that is football. We have spoken to them and have offered contracts but there is always going to be interest from other clubs as well. You cannot prevent that from happening, we will just to see where we end up.
“I don’t know if they have been offered contracts elsewhere, we are talking to our players and some have been offered contracts. I have spoken to the majority of the boys, still maybe one that I have still to speak to because he has been away.
“We want to try and keep our best players because they are hard to replace. We are looking at a lot of players at the moment so time will tell who we bring in.”
The manager said that his contract has been agreed despite not actually signing the paperwork yet.
“It has been agreed and everything is fine. It will get done when Ross (McArthur) gets a minute. The most important thing is getting the players in first and foremost. That is what we are trying to do but this time of year is always difficult because everybody wants to wait and look at their options.
“Time goes on and we have to make sure that we get our players in as well. We might not have time to wait for them to see what their options are.”
Asked about the fitness of Sean Murdoch and the apparent strength in the goalkeeping position, Allan replied:-
“Sean got Player of the Year the season before. He is a quality keeper and it is good to have that competition. We have have young Cammy Gill who is a big prospect as well. It is great when you have that type of quality coming through.”
With a Dunfermline Athletic team in the SPFL Reserve League next season the manager revealed that there had been talks with youth players at Fife Elite.
“There are a lot of prospects, really good young players that we are trying to get on board. We are trying to build for the future as well.”
Was there any chance of last season’s on loan players returning - Tom Beadling, James Vincent and Daniel Armstrong? AJ said:-
“We are looking at all possibilities. This time of year there is a lot of, is it posturing the word?”
Whoever Allan Johnston signs, the squad will be back in training on 14 June:-
“It is amazing how quickly the time flies in, it is not that long until we are back in pre season. We are all looking forward to it. Obviously we ended the season by getting in the play offs.
“There are a lot of positives to take and hopefully that is a learning curve and experiences that we can improve on. We have to be challenging, we want to try and get promotion next year.”
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