Manager's vote of confidence from Board

Very pleased to get manager Allan Johnston signed up for another two seasons.

The club's Managing Director, Ross McArthur told the club website:-

"I'm absolutely delighted that we've actually put pen to paper now, although it has been agreed for a wee while. I think Allan has said publicly that he wanted to first of all deal with the players and get them signed up because they're the most important people. He didn't want his own contract to be done first. I was happy to accommodate that. It's all about trust and I didn't have any issues with that.

Ross dismissed suggestion that with the manager not signed there could be doubts in players' minds over their own decision to commit pen to paper:-

"I think Allan has spoken to the players he has signed and told them what his position is. I don't think there were any issues with that."

Securing the rest of the backroom staff were described as "in the final stages" Ross expanded:-

"Again, everything has been agreed in principal with Sandy and John. We've just got to get the paperwork sorted out, but I don't envisage any problems with that either."

Next season's target is just to compete in the Championship:-

To consolidate and compete in the Championship. At the moment, you don't know what teams are going to be in the Championship, from the Premiership or from the play-offs coming up from this league.

"So, it's difficult, a lot can change but we want to go into the Championship and compete, that's the target next season. Obviously we want to try and bring in the right type of players to allow us to do that."

How big is the budget and how many players can be brought in?

"That's really for Allan to decide. He's identified a range of targets, because there's so many players available and you might not get everybody he'll be looking for. He's highlighted again that he wants to strengthen but I would prefer that Allan discusses players. Obviously we'd be looking to freshen the squad up, I think that's the right thing to do after every season."

Budget?

"That's one of the difficulties, because we don't know who's going to be in the league. We've set a budget, we think we've set a competitive budget and I think the manager's content with what he's got and we're working towards that at the moment. Thankfully, with the players we've signed already, we're within the budget. So, all going well, we'll be able to work within the budget we've set."

Ross McArthur reported that the Board was delighted with what Allan Johnston had achieved at the club:-

"He's brought a level of professionalism to the football side this year and his analysis and his approach to games, the information he gathers and how he digests that and communicates it to the players, is completely different to what we had before.

"Again, we're trying to support him in one or two other areas as we move up the league, in terms of giving him a better platform for success and professionalising the club again. He works really, really hard. I can see the work he puts in and I think the success is down to the hard work he's put in and the level of detail and his preparation.

"We're absolutely delighted with what he's brought to the club this year. So, we're happy to offer him a two-year contract and try to push the club on. If we can consolidate and compete next year then we'll be in a good position to then move the club on again from there. He's done a fantastic job."

"We spent a lot of time choosing the manager and in doing due diligence and speaking to a lot of people in Scottish football before we made the appointment. So, to be fair, a lot of what's happened has not been surprising, because we knew how he approaches things.

"I think as a board we're learning as well, in terms of how things should operate and what the expectations are, so we're really pleased with what Allan and all the backroom staff have contributed this season."