Manager on Monday

25/02/19: SC - “they will see themselves too close to the bottom of the table again. It is important that we are ready for that.

Stevie Crawford looked ahead to Tuesday night’s home match against Partick Thistle:-

“Gary Caldwell has managed to put a different dimension into Partick in the January transfer window. They have picked up and gone on a good run of five wins.

“But having lost the game at the weekend, they will come with a bit to prove and they will see themselves too close to the bottom of the table again. It is important that we are ready for that.

“The top three teams have opened up a gap but it is a competitive league. I don’t think that there are easy games. Teams coming now to East End will hopefully say look at Dunfermline in the last couple of games, they have had a couple of clean sheets and are difficult to beat now.

“We also have that threat going forward and a belief about us. Apart from the penalty on Saturday I did think that we had three or four good chances which on another day could go in the back of the net. If we keep getting into areas we will start scoring goals.”

Happy after the third shut out in his side’s last four games Stevie continued:-

“It is important if you don’t lose goals, you can then build on trying to be creative but it also brings a good spirit to the place not just with the players, the staff and everybody.

“We were in a tricky situation and having gone back to back against Inverness who have scored goals all season and Ayr United who are a threat not just from Shankland and Moffat, they are good side to keep clean sheets will build confidence throughout the team.”

The gaffer also feels that the wins are just as important to the fans. The great support does not go unnoticed, he added:-

“After the Dundee United game where we had sixty to seventy minutes that were really good, really encouraging and then we just switched off when a free kick was taken quickly. It was a sore one to take on the day.

“Then the Raith Rovers game, that’s where we felt that the fans wanted to get behind us. The disappointment of that has carried on but hopefully these two recent result will get people out backing us again.

“I know the fans have been backing us anyway and they have been brilliant in the last two games against Inverness and Ayr United. Hopefully they will come and see an exciting game against Partick Thistle.

“We have two big games against Partick and Queen of the South but hopefully we can send them home with smiles on their faces.”

Will Stevie change a winning team? He replied:-

“It is important that we use the whole squad to full potential because the games are coming thick and fast as well.

“Sometimes you can try to be too clever. There will be a lot of discussion because the Partick game will be a different challenge to what Queen of the South will bring.

“Partick have a different dimension so we will spend time looking at how they have been going about their business. Queen of the South will not have too many surprises up their sleeve, they have the quality of Dobbie and Dykes upfront. Partick is one that we have to take care of first and foremost. Then from that we will see where we are at in terms of selection.”

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