Manager on Thursday

30/08/18: AJ - “Hopefully, and fingers crossed, we are going to bring in a couple ...

Manager Allan Johnston told the media on Thursday that he expected to sign players before the transfer window closes. He said:-

“Hopefully, and fingers crossed, we are going to bring in a couple anyway. That should hopefully happen tomorrow. That’s if things go to plan but you know what it is like, they don’t always go to plan. We are trying to get it done and it is likely to be loans.”

Following the defeat at Ayr the manager has told his players that it is up to them to make sure that they keep their place in the team by impressing in training. He added:-

“It is up to the other boys to try and get in the team. There was a reserve game during the week and obviously we are looking at everybody just now especially when you have had such a poor performance.

“The boys have reacted well but it is all about making sure that we get a result at the weekend against Inverness.”

Allan described last Saturday as “one of those days” where the whole eleven had a bad game.

“You don’t often get games like that and we got punished. We can’t afford to turn up and just expect to win, we are not as good as that. We have to make sure that we get it right at the weekend.

“We lost really soft goals and in this league if you defend like that you are going to get punished. We need to tighten up defensively and on the other hand we need to be threat going forward because we never worked their keeper enough. We have got to do more in the final third. Overall it was just a bad day.”

In his post match comments AJ termed the performance at Ayr as the worst under his time in management at Dunfermline, he recalled the 5-2 home defeat to Gary Naysmith’s side in November:-

“Even last year when we played Queen of the South for the majority of the game we actually did all right but in the last 25 minutes things fell apart. That was probably the worst up to that point but performance wise, that was nowhere near good enough considering the standards that we have set.”

The result at Somerset Park was particularly hard to take since it followed a good showing against the Premier League leaders, Hearts, the previous Saturday:-

“In the majority of games we have been really competitive and played well. Even the games that we lost we have had a chance of winning. It was just one of those games where nothing went right. Defenders never defended, strikers never did enough so overall it was just a poor performance from everyone.”

The manager agreed that Ayr United were right up for the game and are playing with a lot of confidence:-

“They have good players as well and, as I said after the game, Shankland was on fire. He won everything and caused all sorts of problems. Sometimes when you play against players who are at the top of their game and you are not at the top of your game it shows.”

Dunfermline defeated Inverness in the Irn Bru Cup just over a fortnight ago but the manager doesn’t think there are any pointers to take from that night.

“They changed a few players, we changed a whole team but you could see the quality of some of their first team players - the strikers and Liam Polworth. They are a big physical team, one of the biggest teams in the league.

“They have two big strikers up front, they get the ball forward and we need to make sure we defend crosses. We have to defend a lot better than we did last weekend especially when you are playing an opposition who are a threat especially when they put the ball in the box.”

On the injury front Allan reported that Tom Beadling was back running. “He is not far away from training. We just have to make sure that we progress him a wee bit slower this time and make sure that he is 100 per cent right.”

The gaffer also revealed that Lewis Martin had undergone surgery on his groin injury. “He is going to be out for roughly six weeks but that is why you have a squad.”

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