Manager Ahead of Motherwell

28/12/11: JM:- "Motherwell are a good side with a lot of pace in the wider areas which stretches you as a team.

Jim McIntyre does not have his troubles to seek when it comes to players being unavailable for selection. Faced with three games in ten days when you badly need a fit squad, it would seem that Dunfermline could face Motherwell without Martin Hardie, Joe Cardle and Jason Thomson. He revealed Martin Hardie had picked up a knee injury and Joe Cardle a severe virus that caused him to call in the doctor on Boxing Day. On top of that on loan Jambo Jason Thomson did not join the squad in training at East End Park yesterday since he was ill.

Keeper Paul Gallacher is not good and has still not recovered sufficiently to have his injury scanned; Steven McDougall will get an injection today to try and clear up his problem, Kevin Rutkiewicz is improving and hopes to join in training on Saturday. The gaffer said:-

"It is unfortunate at this time when we have a rake of injuries. But we just have to keep going, there is no use feeling sorry for yourself. You have to show the right reaction and commitment. That's what I will certainly be doing and I know the players will as well."

The lengthy and growing injury list restricts the Manager's options and there's no doubt that if he had a full squad to choose from then he would be changing things around. He added:-

"It is as simple as going with what you have got." But qualified that adding "If you are involved in mistakes on a regular basis then you won't be playing. On Saturday we chose to go with a different midfield and I thought it was fine up until the goal."

Saturday's match against St Johnstone was yet another where mistakes were costly. This was very disappointing for the management team who thought their team had started the game well and were doing every bit as well as St Johnstone.

"We had the first real opportunity, and it was a decent opportunity, for big Barrowman but unfortunately he couldn't hit the target. Obviously we know that mistakes need to stop if we are going to win games. It does dent the confidence, there is no doubt about that, when you see the manner in which we have been losing goals on a regular basis.

"There's nobody feeling sorry for themselves; they have been bubbly in training and that's the way I always demand it to be."

Individual errors are very frustrating for a coach and on the training pitch Macca has been demonstrating just exactly what he expects and enforcing that with play backs from the match video to show just where the player went wrong:-

"Ultimately it's at that moment in time where they make the split decision; it is about making better decisions. They need to keep their concentration because the second goal on Saturday - although Chris Smith has spilled it - we could have cleared. We are all going to make mistakes, you need to try and bail your team mate out when he makes one but we totally switched off when we had two attempts to deal with it. The goalkeeper has not dealt with the first one but then Jason (Thomson) could quite easily have played the ball. He just took an eternity and Sandaza has got in and scored. It is wee things like that at a crucial period of the game.

"I thought we started the second half off well again; we showed a good reaction from half time but that mistake and the manner in which we lost the second goal, was a real body blow. It is a sore thing to take and the third goal was very similar.

"We worked really hard last week in terms of the shape of our side and how we were going to play. I thought that was working fine against St Johnstone but once you lose that first goal and in that manner, and then you quickly lose another at the start of the second half in the same manner, you can prepare all you like but you cannot legislate for giving goals away like that. It does eat into confidence when it has happened several times before.

"Motherwell are a good side with a lot of pace in the wider areas which stretches you as a team. They have a good target man in Murphy who floats about and gets into areas that defenders don't like going into. They are where they are because they have had such a good start."

Stuart McCall's Motherwell are in third place, nine slots above Dunfermline who can take comfort in that they are not alone at the foot of the table. The Manager maintains that you have to remain positive:-

"We know that one result can change things; you just need to look at Aberdeen who came back from 3-1 down to get a point from us and then won their next two games. Things can change very quickly and it is something that we have been stressing to the players. They have to keep believing and keep going - that's one thing that they have been doing.

"The way we started the game on Saturday told you that there wasn't a lack of confidence in playing at home even though we have not won there but we have contributed to our own downfall again."

If only Andy Barrowman had put the Pars ahead. Jim McIntyre stressed again just how important is the first goal:-

"It is no more true than when you look at the stats that back that up. The first goal is absolutely crucial in these games but equally you have to show a good reaction when you go behind as well."

Those stats show that in 81 out of 108 SPL games this season the team that scores first has gone on to win. In 17 cases they have drawn and in just 10 have they lost. Both Celtic and St Johnstone have a 100% record in turning scoring first into victories. Dunfermline are one of five teams who have never won after conceding the first goal but they have Rangers, Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen for company.

If we are looking for a stat that might help against Motherwell, in their 19 SPL matches they have never won on the four occasions where they have been losing at half time. The Pars have won three times from the five games where they scored first.

Subscribers to the Dunfermline Media Centre can hear an alternative Jim McIntyre interview

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