Managers Post St Mirren

25/07/11: JM - "I said to the players this is a learning curve and you've got to learn quick because you're up against better sides who are quicker and stronger

Manager Jim McIntyre was pleased with a point and insisted there is better to come from his side.

He said "I don't think we deserved the three points but I thought in the second we were much better. Saints were by far the better side in the first half and obviously the penalty save is one of the reasons why I signed Paul Gallacher because he is a top class keeper.

"We can definitely pass the ball better, that's one thing that we never did well tonight, we are a better footballing side than what we showed but you've got to give a lot of credit to St Mirren who I thought  passed the ball really well and pressed the game very well. Their shape was giving us a wee bit of  a problem. We made a couple of changes in the second half and I felt our substitutions gave us a little bit of impetus and gave us more of a threat.."

He also stressed that his side must learn from their mistakes quickly if they are to survive in the SPL.

Macca said, "I said to the players this is a learning curve and you've got to learn quick because you're up against better sides who are quicker and stronger but we are a good side and we can play far better than we did tonight. One thing you will never question is their work rate. It was excellent and as long as we keep working as hard as that we know we can play better football and a point is a good start. I think you could put the first half down to nerves. Our passing was sloppy and we looked a bit nervous on the ball. That is human nature but that will get better.

"You get what you deserve in football, it's not always the case but nine times out of ten you do and I think for all St Mirren's possession they had a couple of chances but Paul Gallacher has made good saves. They weren't top drawer saves apart from the penalty. I have got to be pleased with the point."

The Manager confirmed that Kevin Rutkiewicz missed the game with a strain and should be available for the Scottish Communities Cup match at Annan on Saturday.

St Mirren Manager Danny Lennon was a disappointed figure after the match but insisted there were a lot of positives from the performance.

He said: "We are very disappointed not to take three points but delighted to get a point in the end but I felt it should have been all three.

"There were a lot of good positive things about within the game, mostly in the first half for us and if we can continue to work and improve then we will only get better.

"I've got to give credit to Dunfermline in the manner in which they got a little bit tighter in the second half but we didn't move the ball about as quickly as we did in the first half and on the balance of the open play we still created the better chances but again Dunfermline always looked dangerous from set plays in and around the box with Martin Hardie. I said to the boys at half-time that It would have to have been a massive error defensively for them to cut us open."

The Saints gaffer also expressed his delight at the performances of the new boys and insisted there is more to come from all of them.

He said, "The new boys were terrific. They are all good football players and good players can settle in anywhere.

"Young Nigel has still got a lot to learn about the game off the ball but he certainly livens things up when he has the ball. Gary Teale is always going to give you that great bit of quality and I thought Steven Thompson was terrific in the way he held the line tonight and didn't let the disappointment of the penalty miss affect him.

"There were a lot of pleasing performances all over the park. I thought Darren McGregor and Lee Mair have the making of a good partnership at the back. We will take the positives out of tonight and take that into Saturday."