Managers Post St Johnstone

"Our aim today was to peg St Johnstone back but they have created more of a gap now so that is the disappointing factor for us today.

Jim McIntyre reflected on the defeat at the hands of St Johnstone, joking that it was "another Manager of the Month jinx":-

"To lose any game is disappointing, it just shows you the importance of scoring the first goal. We had two great chances, one from the penalty and then the one that Mark put wide of the post when he lobbed the keeper.

"I felt after making these kind of chances we went flat and we weren't playing at the same tempo. We started the game excellently again, a good fast start and that's the way we have got our success, by starting well. Today we never took our chances and St Johnstone scored right on half time."

The Pars boss was left to lament the missed opportunities with Burchill and Hamilton both coming close and failing to take advantage of Dundee's draw and Hamilton's defeat:-

"One of the most pleasing things is that we are in there to create the chances. We never took them today and it has cost us. Results have gone for us today and we have not capitalised. That is disappointing."

Asked whether the results ends Dunfermline's hopes of promotion the gaffer replied:-

"You never rule yourself out. At the end of the day there are two teams, not just one team, who need to falter. The chances of that are very unlikely - both to falter. Our aim today was to peg St Johnstone back but they have created more of a gap now so that is the disappointing factor for us today. We are not looking at the top two but just the team above us."

Dunfermline missed a penalty and might have had another had Jim McIntyre not been brushed away from a Scott Thomson cross in the dying minutes:-

"I thought it was a shove - both hands on my back but I am not going to gripe about that. St Johnstone defended their box well at the end when we were going for it. We were trying to get back into the game and they were defending for their lives."

Jim did not know what had caused the fracas at the final whistle between Dyron Daal and Danny Murphy but was able to reveal that both players had been given straight red cards.

"That will be Danny's last game for the club which is a real shame. I don't know what happened to be quite honest, you would need to ask the third official. Danny says that there wasn't much in it."

Will Macca being showing Mark Burchill how to take penalties?

"No, to be fair Mark Burchill has been different class as have the rest of them. The most important thing is that he is there to put himself in the front line. I have been delighted with Mark and I will back him anytime."

Greg Ross started his first match of the season without even a reserve game to get him back up to match speed. Had that been a bit of a gamble?

"Of course it was but we are down to the bare bones. For the seven weeks that I have been in charge we have had to play people out of position and that is never ideal. We have got through it in some games but today we never. You could say that there is a gamble in everyone of those games.

"Scott Morrison is a full back who has been filling in at left mid. Stevie Crawford is a centre forward and he has been filling in the middle of the park in a few of my games."

Jim confirmed that players would need to leave the club before he would be allowed to bring in new faces. Asked if it was hard to step back from being a player to a Manager in a similar way as his opposite number Derek McInnes has had to do at St Johnstone, Macca joked:-

"Derek has not got as good legs as me! Of course its difficult. It is not easy and that is the reason I wanted my own backroom team in so that I could continue to play."

Derek McInnes said that he was very pleased since he recognised that Dunfermline had been going well:-

"We knew it would be a big result for us if we were to come here and win. We played with a lot of confidence and I think we have shown in the last couple of away games that we can dig in. At Clyde, Stirling and now Dunfermline we have really only lost one fluky goal at Clyde and looked a lot more solid.

"I am pleased that we managed to get the result. Obviously Dunfermline are going to have a bit of pressure at home. They put Kevin Harper on, Jimmy and Stevie Crawford behind the two strikers. It is always going to mount pressure on you but I just felt that we countered them.

"I thought Paul Gallacher was outstanding. we could maybe have got a second goal and it would have been a bit easier on us. In terms of digging in and getting a result I couldn't be any more proud. Every one of them fought their corner to get a result out of it."

The St Johnstone Manager said that he just caught the tail end of the tussle between Murphy and Daal:-

"They had a hold of each other. I spoke to John Underhill afterwards because the linesman had intimated that it was only a caution for my player but John's view of it was a straight red. I have no argument with it. If Daal lifted his hands in whatever manner then it is a red card.

"Just on the final whistle Daal had gone to shut the boy Murphy down as he came through. Dyron said that the boy had come up and grabbed him first round his throat then Dyron retaliated and did the same.  He should have walked away but it is difficult. It was after the 90 minutes and what I hope comes out is more about my team than anything to do with what happened afterwards."