Manager Post Livingston

30/03/13: JJ - "If we can survive after the points deduction you will be legends in just six weeks ...

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Jim Jefferies felt that it was like winning 3-0 to come back to draw the game at Livingston with such a young team and after all that had gone in the build up to the match. He told his team that with six games to go they all had a chance to be Pars legends.

"Normally that's associated with players who have been a long time at the Club but if we can survive after the points deduction you will be legends in just six weeks. They did us proud today and I was just pleased that they got something out of the game. You could see the response from the fans and it gave them a right big lift. That's what we needed this week and they gave us it.

"We always knew that they were going to have most of the possession, they had more experience than us. We were ok in the middle of the park but at the back with Callum Morris being injured, we have lost the whole back five players. For these young kids to come in with John Potter for some sort of experience there, you can see the difference when he went off - we got caught with two diagonal balls into the box that we didn't deal with.

"I have got to say what a fantastic response for the last fifteen to twenty minutes once we went 2-1 down. When you are young boys and up 1-0 you tend to sit deep because they want to protect it and you can understand that. We were shouting to them to get up the park and they threw the shackles off when we changed it to 4-4-2 when we went 2-1 down.

No penalty for this foul on Shaun Byrne

"Even though Ryan Thomson is not a natural centre forward, we needed a presence up there and they brought two great saves out of the goalkeeper, the young Smith and Thomson had great chances. We were claiming for a penalty for the shot that broke off the crossbar and even at that the boys were adamant that the ball was over the line. Before that when Shaun Byrne turned to give the ball to him, his feet were taken from him.

"When he showed good feet again, Shaun and was just too good for the boy on the edge of the box, he caught him and justice was done because he should have had a penalty earlier. We stuck it away and it was reward for a terrific fight back.

"Dunfermline have to look at that and say that if they can come through this and with what the younger boys showed today, if they continue in that vein, that they have some bright youngsters there that can do well for the Club."

The gaffer had to worry that his young side's heads would go down when they went behind.

"Livingston got their two goals and Livingston were always going to be the team with most of the possession. They have very good front players that were a test for our defence. Young Alex Whittle is a left winger who we played at left back today. I told him that today he would either be Jordi Alba or Radio Alba. There was a big laugh in the dressing room about that!

"They kept their spirits up, fought for each other and you could see why the 20s are in the Youth Cup Final because there were a lot of them out there. Everything has been going right for us on the park this season. I know that we have had a bad run but that is because of circumstances - it all coincided with what has happened at the Club. We can look back and see that what we started to do is bearing fruits now. Hopefully if the Club do get through it and survive the future is bright with some of these kids."

The Manager revealed that it had been difficult patching together his team for the game after the deep cuts made to his squad made by the Interim Administrator. His selection and game plan had to be changed four or five times before he was happy that he had the right balance.

"You are used to putting down Dowie, Barrowman, Kirk - all these boys - and with Andy Geggan missing today because of injury, John Potter was actually struggling to play but I didn't want to have two young kids starting here. I told him that I need him talking it through and he did well to last as long as he did. When he came down on his foot he felt it weak and obviously as it had tired it is always going to be vulnerable.

"We put Chris Kane in there until we got things sorted out but we lost a goal at that period. When we got Grant Munro on he lost a similar goal to be honest.  We thought naivety would be a problem today but we are not going to criticise them for that. They have to learn and that's why it was important that the midfield which was still strong on paper with Falkingham, Husband, Kane and Thomson, had to make sure that they protected them really well.

"When Dargo and Potter came off the youngest was 18 and the oldest 22. They had dangerous forwards which was always a problem for us and we were very inexperienced in the back four today. Andy Millen's son, Ross Millen had a terrific game as well. He covered well in the first half and big Michal Hrivnak had no chance with the goals but he looked a big solid young keeper.

"We changed it three or four times because we just didn't know what we were going to get. We didn't have the presence up front like we did with Barrowman or Kirk but the young boys who came on did us a fantastic turn. When it went to 2-1 we were the team that always looked like we could get an equaliser. They did the Club proud today and I told them that they could have the Monday holiday off."

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