Managers Post Ayr United
Saturday, 23rd Jan 202123/01/21: Link to audio of both managers’ post match comments
- - Listen to this Stevie Crawford interview
Stevie Crawford told the media:-
“Just talking about the game back there it is clear that we never tested their goalkeeper today. That was the disappointing thing because I thought we had opportunities to score goals but we have not made their goalkeeper work at those moments in the game.
“The positives from it were that we limited Ayr to only a few chances over the ninety minutes. It gets us a point closer to Hearts and that is another positive. We have got two games in the next week now, Hearts next Saturday and Raith Rovers on the Wednesday to look forward to”
You are not losing games, is it just a case of taking your chances and turning draws into wins?
“Yes, and it is making sure on the training ground that we apply ourselves and work on our finishing work, our crossing work and our final pass through. I don’t want it to sound too disappointing with the boys but we have had a really good start to the season.
“We are drawing too many games at the moment but again today we tried to make substitutions, not on boys individual performances. We brought Lewis McCann on to try and give Declan a bit of support up there to try and break Ayr United down. At the moments when the ball fell to us in their 18 yard box we never worked the keeper and that is the thing that we will try and work on in the coming weeks.”
With Hearts losing today, was it a missed opportunity?
“You could look at it that way but we have said all along that we want to concentrate on where our destination is going to be. I am delighted that we are sitting second in the league. I think that we have made forward steps and we will continue to do that but it is not being happy with where we are at.
“That is the questions that I will ask the players, will ask myself and as I say it is not getting too disappointed because drawing games can become a habit as well. We have just got to find that wee bit of flair, that wee bit of creativity in the final third of the park that gives us that spark to go and win games of football again.”
Judging by the amount of snow around the park there must have been a monumental effort to get this match on today?
“There was and I’d like to thank everyone including admin staff who were out on the pitch yesterday afternoon to try and let us play this game. We are very much a team, the thing that is disappointing is that we have not won the game.
“We know that Ayr is a difficult game at the best of times. We know what we need to get better at and I think the team collectively know what we have to get better at. I am not necessarily having a go at the attacking players, clean sheets are led from the front as well. We will get praise when they score their goals when we do start scoring goals again but equally they have played their part today in shutting Ayr United out.”
Is it a concern that the chances, although created weren’t taken? Is it a confidence thing?
“Probably confidence could be the right word. It is not as if it is falling to the same person all the time, they are just going through a really hard spell. I wouldn’t say it is somebody going through a bad bit of form, it is just not shirking from it.
“Having been a striker myself I know that you just have to work on it on the training ground and then eventually something falls to you. Apply yourself properly and work hard.
“Look at Liverpool at the moment, probably one of the best teams in the world and they are going through a spell, a drought of scoring goals and we are facing that at this moment of time but the pleasing thing is that when we are not scoring goals we are not losing games.”
- - Hear the comments from Ayr manager Mark Kerr
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