Managers Post Partick
Saturday, 5th Apr 2008The post match comments from Jim McIntyre and Ian McCall
Not surprisingly Dunfermline Manager Jim McIntyre was delighted to take the three points from the match against Partick Thistle and in his view his team deserved to win. He added that the pitch had not been complimentary to silky football:
"The surface was very difficult to play on, very bouncy, dry in places and wet in others and I think they tried to soak it to calm the bounces down. But it dried out a bit and that made it very difficult."
He agreed that Stevie Crawford's strike just a minute from the break was at just the right time:
"We could have had one before that as well, we had a couple of half chances but I just thought we were playing the better football.It was an excellent finish from a good move, it came in off a good touch from wee Nicky. He found myself and played it through and Craw has stuck it away like he does. He is great in those positions."
Ian McCall thought the match had been a "rubbish game" and that the referee had not helped.Macca commented:
"I don't think the referee had a great game, I would agree with him there.I thought we played the better football, I don't think it was a classic but I think it's very hard to get a classic on that pitch."
Dunfermline go to 45 points as a consequence of this result, only one behind Queen of the South in fourth place.
"Results have gone for us with Queens drawing as well and I have said since I have come in that we want to try and finish as high up as we can.You have fans travelling through from Dunfermline, I have said it before, we are paid well so it is up to us to go out there and put on a performance."
Partick Thistle Manager Ian McCall felt that his team were reacting to a tough match on Tuesday:
"They were just absolutely knackered, you could see that, they couldn't get about the pitch yet I do not think Dunfermline really cut us open.It could quite easily have been a nothing each.It was very much an end of season game. We don't want to play games like that, but I have gone in and not said anything bad about them at all because they have been different class. They were absolutely out on their feet and I can tell you when David Rowson looks tired then you know the players are tired.
"It was an end of season game but it is hard enough for the fans to take and the ref shouldn't try to take centre stage which I thought he did all day today. I'm not saying he had a bad game but I think he could have let a lot of things go.It was stop start, stop start in what already was a particularly bad game.
"The game is about players and fans, it is not about referees, coaches and managers. I didn't go hard on them because they were absolutely knackered.It will be as young a team as you will ever see on Tuesday night."
Nice to see that Ian McCall has apparently given up all hope of challenging for fourth place in the league.
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