Managers Post Partick

02/03/13: JJ - "I thought that there were quite a few of them who just turned up and just filled that jersey. I will not accept that.

Jim Jefferies felt let down by his players:-

"We had a meeting yesterday and talked about coming here today. I said to them at the time make sure when you come that you don't just turn up to fill a jersey. You either come and put the jersey on and play to win or you just tell me right now. You can imagine after a fantastic reception on coming off after a terrible performance. You can argue a case that it is after what has gone on this week but when you tell the Manager and his Assistant that you are going out there to win, they never did that in the first half and we found ourselves 4-0 down.

"We are all suffering the same; staff get even less than we do but we want to win, so they were given strict instructions before they went out - 'you don't lose any more goals' - it had to be because if we had to do a bit of damage limitation. We set up 4-1-4-1 to give ourselves a chance with the wide players to even win the half 1-0 to restore a bit of pride because those supporters today deserved that.

"They got right behind the team and really at half time they did not deserve the reception they got. They would probably do the same at the end of the game and be right behind you, so give them something to be proud of. Show a bit of heart to go out there and stop what could be quite an embarrassment. You are professional football players - if you do not want to play come and see me and I will put the young boys in.

"I thought that there were quite a few of them who just turned up and just filled that jersey. I will not accept that. We have all got our gripes and we have all got our thoughts on the situation and I'm sure that the Club is trying to sort it out but while we are here and we are going out to take up fixtures, you go out there and be as professional as you can and you play to win. You play with a bit of heart.

"You can sometimes play badly, you can make mistakes but you do not show a lack of passion and fight while I am in charge. That is something that I will not accept. To be fair to them, we didn't lose any more in the second half and we didn't let Partick create any more chances. Gall did not have any more saves to make; the damage was all done in the first half because we didn't turn up. That's the bottom line.

"We achieved our objective in the second half by not losing any more goals. We didn't but at least we had a bit more about us because Partick are a good team and they punished us. We had no resistance really - we lost  goals in a few minutes from a corner. We talked about it before the game - he has great delivery - and we have to go and attack the ball.

"We never did that, we let it bounce in our box, a dangerous area and the man who put it in isn't marked well enough. I will keep who that was confidential but the person who was supposed to be marking him didn't mark him and he put the ball in the net and right away we were down.

"We talked about Ross Forbes; he has done it twice to us before where he goes and hits thirty yarders but what do they do? We sit off him, let him get control, let him knock it forward and let him pick his spot. You cannot do that. That is just a lack of application to close him down and we did that all first half. We didn't go with runners when the fourth goal went in. That was a bad goal when we let runners come from the middle of the park. they walked past us far too easily because there was no resistance.

"We set up the second half with people closer and Partick had to work harder to get possession of the ball and they didn't do an awful lot with it. Ones that were outstanding in the first half were not seen in the second half. You could say that they won 4-0 but at the end of the day we showed more spirit in the second half than we did in the first half. The first half wasn't acceptable and that is why it was pretty vocal at half time. After the backing and reception we got from those supporters today, they didn't deserve that."

The Manager felt that if any of his players were going to have difficulty being motivated in the ten remaining fixtures then they had better get in to see him quickly:-

"We want to finish the season playing to win, I am and I'd rather they were honest, come and chap on my door and I will sort that out. We have a good crop of young players - we had two in there today."

The Manager understands the situation and accepts that it is not easy for his players but feels that taking to the field of play gives them the opportunity to put the problems behind them for an afternoon:-

"If they don't want to play, don't play. I am not having a go at them, I understand their situation and they can feel sorry for themselves but they are better not playing at all and better letting me play a boy who wants to go out there and give his heart for the Club and the jersey. That's the message I got over to them at half time so there was a response and it was better.

"I have just warned them there again at full time not to ever turn up at this Club and go about the first half like they did again. If they do they will not be here anyway whether they are getting paid or not."

All the talk of striking etc appears to have got to the players but Jefferies understood that it would:-

"Everybody at the Club is struggling but you do not turn round on a Friday when I say 'do you want to play or do you not' agree to play and then not turn up. It looked like we were just fulfilling the fixture. There were too many in the first half who were scared and I do not want that. I'd rather that they be honest and say that they do not want to play. That would be fine, I understand that they might not want to play but if they don't at least tell me and I can put a youngster out there with a bit of heart and desire who wants to play for Dunfermline Football Club. That's the message that I want to get over.

"I feel sorry for all the players, the staff and myself that there are bad times for us just now - it is not easy but football is our respite. They got an opportunity to say that they didn't want to play but they turned up today and some of them didn't play. That is what hurt most."

Partick Thistle's caretaker manager, Alan Archibald was delighted to see his side register their first away win since September:-

"It was a great away performance, a clean sheet and four goals as well. I was delighted with the start. We had spoken about it in the lead up to the game how despite them playing well last week, their heads would go down if they lost a goal."

Archibald had every sympathy for the Dunfermline players:-

"Every one of them is credit to themselves and their club. If we asked any of you to go and do your work for 50% of your wages, you'd probably say no. For some reason in the football environment it seems a given that they are going to turn up and play. People don't seem to understand that it is a job like any other. They are out there running the risk of getting injured and I don't think that there will be anything there for them if they do get injured.

"They still have bills to play and still have to travel through to training. People think footballers are all millionaires but it is not like that by any means. There are a lot of guys been in that position before and it is a horrible situation. We were lucky with Save the Jags that we always got paid."