Managers Post Raith Rovers

30/03/21: Link to audio of both managers post match comments

It was a hurting Pars boss Stevie Crawford who said that it was difficult to sum up the 5-1 defeat to Raith Rovers.

“It is my lowest point personally since I came into the job. We came into the game with a similar game plan to the last time. That doesn’t guarantee that it is going to work but that was probably one of our better performances of the season at East End when we won 4-1.

“Tonight I felt that it did not work early on in the game and we tried to change a few things in the first half and Raith Rovers took advantage of that. In the second half it was a case of matching up their diamond in the middle of the park and it is a really sore one to take, coming up against your rivals and losing in the manner we did in the end.

“We were aggressive in terms of wanting to go man for man up against them. When it didn’t work collectively, collectively we didn’t deal with the situation. We addressed that in the second half and went to a flat back four, matched up the four diamond still giving us the threat of two up front. It still wasn’t good enough in the second half.

“It is a sore one to take, the players know that. As a coaching staff I have held up my hand and taken responsibility for it because it is not a nice night to be manager of Dunfermline Football Club and on the back end of a 5-1 defeat by Raith Rovers.

“Our objective at the end of the season was to make the play offs and we got off to a really really good start. Where we find ourselves at the moment, it is still in our own hands to get into the play offs but we need to perform better than we did tonight.

“Dundee was a sore one, there was a ten to fifteen minute spell when I felt we looked vulnerable at setplays. That is where we have been strong all season but tonight was different. To lose five goals in the manner that we did, we have to address that. We have to get back to basics. Our destiny is still in our own hands and we can still make the play offs.

“I don’t think it is just the Hearts game (on Saturday). We will prepare for the Hearts game as we did earlier in the season for our home fixture and for the away fixture at Tynecastle. It is our next game, it is a most important game but it doesn’t make a difference whether it is Hearts or the remaining five games that we have after that. It is going to have to be better at the weekend and we have to find a way of starting to win games of football again.

“I treat every game in the same manner, if we beat Hearts you get three points, if you beat Queen of the South you get three points, if you beat Alloa you get three points. Tonight there were three points at stake and we have not come away with anything.

“That is not saying that a result against Hearts is the be all and end all. The six games are important to us and it just so happens that Hearts is the next game. We are going to have to get a reaction to go in and try and give ourselves the best chance of getting into the play offs now.”

Is confidence a problem?

“I think collectively it does come into it a little bit. Kevin (O’Hara) scored again tonight, Craig (Wighton) has scored goals since he came into the team and there is competition for places upfront.

“The manner in which we lost the game tonight is a sore one. I take responsibility for that, I know on the dressing room that we are not happy and we still have it in our own hands. It is not like we are having to rely on other teams at the moment.

“We have six games that now become huge, massive games for us, we will have to take each one of them and start winning games of football to try and get into the play off places and make sure that we finish as high in the league as we can.”

Six cup finals then?

“Yes but it is not looking any further forward than Hearts at the weekend.”

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