Manager on Friday
Friday, 1st Apr 201601/04/16: "We want to win as many games as possible between now and the end of the season. That is what it is all about and what the boys have done really well all season.
Allan Johnston was delighted that the title was clinched in front of the home fans last Saturday, speaking exclusively to this website the Pars manager said that it was a great occasion.
"It made it even more special having Faiss scoring in the last minute of the game with an unbelievable finish and to wait on the Peterhead result. It built up the atmosphere even better, then when we heard the result from Peterhead it could not have gone any better."
After all the celebrations Allan Johnston is expecting a professional approach to the match against Albion Rovers from his players:-
"We have just been trying to get them back down to earth. It is always hard without the incentive to win the league but we will keep them focused. They have set good standards this year and I am sure that they will want to finish the season on a high.
"It is important to keep winning because it is a habit, the last thing that we want to do is get slack, lose a couple of games and let ourselves down. Obviously there are supporters coming to the games, getting right behind the team and we have to make sure that we do not let them down.
"We want to win as many games as possible between now and the end of the season. That is what it is all about and what the boys have done really well all season. They deserve all the credit that they have got. To win that many games in the manner in which they have done it has been brilliant. They are all playing to hopefully get our futures sorted so there is still a lot to play for."
Acknowledging that success has turned the spotlight on his squad AJ added:-
"I am sure that there will be a lot of teams looking at them. That is why it is important that we have a heads start on a few teams and hopefully we can start getting things organised for next year.
"It is really early, we are just starting but we will hopefully get round everybody over the next few weeks. There are a lot of players to deal with and it is not just players, it is agents too so it is going to take a lot of time. We just have to be patient."
The Pars manager is hoping to build a side that will be challenging in the Championship next season:-
"We want to be up near the top of the league and not struggling near the bottom. It is really important that we get the players sorted because they have shown this year already that they can play against top teams. The quicker that we can do that the better, but things like that don't happen overnight. It is going to take a bit of time.
"You always want to be up there challenging if you possibly can. Dunfermline Athletic is a massive club with huge potential, a big fan base and we want players at the club or even new ones that come in to know that we have ambitions to be up challenging "
This week Scott Robinson has joined the club until the end of the season and the Pars gaffer commented:-
"It just gives us a chance to look at him. He has played in the Premier League and at 24 he is still at a really good age as well :-
"It is a great opportunity to come in and get involved whether it is with the 20s or the first team. We can look at him training for a longer period and see where it goes from there.
"I think he just wants to play. He is desperate to be involved and he has said already that he enjoys it here. It is a great chance for him to have a look at us and us to have a look at him. We can't promise anything and we will just have to wait and see how it goes.
"It is important for him as well to play games and get his career back on track. He is desperate to do that and that shows you the character and the attitude of him."
News on the injuries front is that ever present Sean Murdoch and top goalscorer Faissal El Bakhtaoui are both doubts for the trip to Coatbridge. Faiss has a niggle in his back and Sean got a knock in training on Thursday.
"We will need to wait and see how they are but it is a good chance to look at other boys as well, some who have not played as much this year."
The other game that the manager took in this week was the U20s match against Dundee. He felt that John Potter's young squad had hit a bit of form recently and that they dominated the game.
"There were a lot of good performances, it just lacked that end product. At the start of the season they weren't doing that but over the last month or two you can see a big improvement."
Asked about the paper talk about young striker PJ Crossan, AJ replied:-
"Obviously agents put stuff in the press sometimes. PJ is somebody that we want to keep. He is a good young player. He is still young and has still got a lot to learn but we feel that this is the right place for him. You can see how much we like him and that is why he has been involved."
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