Craig Robertson Post Rangers
Saturday, 11th Nov 2006"I know I keep going out this but ten players out today was a lot. Now it looks as though Roddy McKenzie will be out for next Saturday too."
"Our plan was to stick in until half time and then take it from there. When we went one goal down we stuck Jim Hamilton up. We started 4-5-1; no apologies for that - better teams than us come here and play 4-5-1. As soon as we went one goal down we went 4-4-2."
Craig dismissed suggestions that the new manager would have a big job ahead of him to raise the expectations of the players:-
"I think the side are lifted as it is, it is just the injuries that are killing us. We had ten first team boys out today; now if Rangers had ten out, or Hearts ten or Celtic ten - how would they go?"
The ten that Craig were referring to were Dorus de Vries, Scott Wilson, Scott Thomson, Jamie McCunnie, Andy Tod, Darren Young, Phil McGuire, Mark Burchill, Noel Whelan and Jim McIntyre. Given those absentees the Caretaker Manager had plenty of praise who did their utmost for him at Ibrox:-
"I was proud of their performance today. They stuck in, rode their luck but made a few chances also. I can't fault the players for workrate or effort. OK maybe their use of the ball. Our best chance came from Owen Morrison about ten minutes into the game. If we had scored then, it was a different story."
When Stephen Kenny arrives that different story might well arrive. Craig Robertson did not feel that Dunfermline's position five points behind Dundee United and three behind Motherwell was an impossible case:-
"It is quite tight - a couple of victories and we would be back in the pack. We have ten players ready to come back hopefully by January. I know I keep going out this but ten players out today was a lot. Now it looks as though Roddy McKenzie will be out for next Saturday too.
Roddy McKenzie took two minutes to recover from his 14th minute injury
"He has got a bad knock on the kidney and ribs. If it had been Dorus on the bench, then Roddy would have come off but I have a 17 year old kid on the bench and you have to look at his career. There was no way I was going to risk his career for that.
"Dorus is struggling for next week. We have Sean Murdoch out on loan (to Forfar) and we will be phoning the SPL, hopefully tonight, to see if there is anyway because we have no goalies."
Substitute goalkeeper Greg Paterson
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