Craigen aims to right the wrongs
Friday, 31st Aug 2018“It was said all week how well we had played against Hearts and we wanted to take that into the next game but for some reason we weren’t at it as a team.
James Craigen described the task facing his team this weekend:-
“We need to go out there and put a few of the wrongs that we made on Saturday back to rights.”
After going down to a 4-1 defeat to Ayr United he claimed that it was hard to put your finger on exactly what went wrong.
“It was said all week how well we had played against Hearts and we wanted to take that into the next game but for some reason we weren’t at it as a team.
“We conceded terrible goals and found ourselves 3-0 down at half time. You can’t expect to get anything out of a game when you give yourselves a start like that.
“We can’t have a level of performance from the Hearts game that is brilliant, albeit we lost the game, but more than match them, to a performance like that down there.
“You can have a bad day at the office but last week we all had a bad day at the office. You might have two or three who are not on their game but we had eleven players who were not on their game. That is really disappointing and cannot happen.
Some would say that last season a dip in form and failure to maintain consistency meant that Dunfermline made it tough for themselves in qualifying for the play offs. James claimed the only consolation from Saturday’s result was that the club are still only four points off the top.
“That is the only positive you can take. If you win on Saturday then you could look at the league table and be nearer the top. Whoever is the most consistent is going to win this league. We need to get on a run now, performing well each week.”
Ayr United had a game plan to keep up constant pressure on Dunfermline. The Pars players also knew the threat that Lawrence Shankland posed but failed to harness him. James said:-
“Everyone has worked really hard in training this week. There has been a really great tempo to each session. Everyone is fighting for positions after last Saturday. No one is resting on their laurels and this Saturday we will come out of the blocks firing and give the fans something to cheer about after last weekend.”
The player who started off in football at Preston North End has been a utility player for his manager Allan Johnston featuring in several positions recognises the strengths of his next opponents:-
“They are good from setpieces. They are a big side but so are we. You could say that we were bigger than Ayr, it is just about application and individual battles which we need to win on Saturday. If we can do that then we will not be far away.”
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