Comrie claims Pars need to halt common theme
Wednesday, 12th Jan 2022“We are just not giving ourselves an opportunity in the game. I can’t remember the last time we scored the first goal in a game
Dunfermline are in a dog fight and defender Aaron Comrie says that the team needs no reminding of that.
“The league table doesn’t lie, we are all fully aware of where we are sitting and we need to look up the way, change results quickly and start picking up points.”
His team’s situation was not improved after the only team below them served up a 5-0 thrashing to go two points above them. Morton’s newly appointed manager, Dougie Imrie got considerably more that he was anticipating by way of new manager bounce and Aaron expressed the disappointment experienced by him and all his teammates:-
“Every game for us at this stage now is massive, the one on Saturday was probably even more so. Of course it is disappointing but it’s done now. We just need to make sure that we start to play better collectively and individually as well.
“Ultimately we lost the game, we were maybe expecting better, maybe it’s a game that we could have won but the manner of the defeat was poor. Internally we are staying together and working hard to get out of this position.”
Aaron Comrie has started all eight matches under John Hughes and before that in all but one of Peter Grant’s teams. In his appearances he has played every minute save for the last eight after his substitution in the home match against Partick Thistle in August. He has now gone in to hear his managers lament after nine defeats and nine draws from the first 20 fixtures of this cinch Championship season but after Saturday’s match he felt these were even sharper than before:-
“There were a few home truths and harsh words but ultimately we got together as a team and said to ourselves that was just not good enough. I think we all know that individually and collectively so we have started the week fresh with the aim to try and win the game against Hamilton.”
Josh Edwards and Aaron Comrie have been near ever present in the Dunfermline defence this season but they have been joined by no fewer than eight central defenders - Paul Watson, Ross Graham, Vytas Gašpuitis, Leon Jones, Mark Connolly, Rhys Breen, Coll Donaldson and Lewis Martin. Aaron dismissed the possible lack of stability in the team as an excuse:-
“It has not really been consistent but it has given opportunities for boys and that’s down to them. I think they know each other well enough to play together so I wouldn’t use that as an excuse.”
Aaron would rather suggest that there has been a common theme throughout the season that has caused a problem:-
“We are just not giving ourselves an opportunity in the game. I can’t remember the last time we scored the first goal in a game so I think that has been a bit of a problem. We definitely can’t lose the goals that we have.”
Indeed the last time Dunfermline didn’t concede the first goal is eight games back on 20th November v Ayr United and as John Hughes has already said, he agreed that he hopes hitting the foot of the table serves as a wake up call:
“Absolutely, and going into the game this Saturday we can’t have any passengers and we definitely need to be better collectively.”
John Hughes sets high demands in training but this week there has been no laughing and joking with the objective of trying to solve how the acclaimed performances on the training pitch can be translated into success in matches. Aaron closed:-
“It is all down to business and in terms of training the manager always demands high standards every day. On paper it is easy to say ‘do this during the week then translate that on to a Saturday.’ It is not easy to do that, it takes time and I know that we are running out of that time but it is hard to say why that is not transitioning over. It is not through a lack of effort from the boys or anything like that.”
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