Manager Post Queen of the South

27/08/16: AJ - "In bits and pieces we actually passed the ball alright but as a goal threat we need to do a lot more

Allan Johnston felt that his team did not start the first half well enough. He told the media:-

"We looked really really nervy for some reason, I do not know why. If you look at some of the Queen of the South opportunities, I think we gave them the ball under no pressure. It is most unlike us.

"We lost a poor goal from a setpiece when they got two free headers which you just can`t do. You need to match the first one and we switched off completely for the second. These things are costing us but we definitely need to be more confident than we were first half.

"I thought second half the boys were totally different, especially when we went down to ten men. If you look at the challenge again, the two of them have their feet off the deck. Usually a referee would give a booking for that, I don`t think there was much in it.

"The boys responded and went for it. The referee had to make decisions and I think he got them wrong.

"Look at the penalty, the one on Spency right at the end. Spency was in front of the boy and the boy kicked him from the back. Surely it is a challenge from behind in the box. You cannot do that surely. That is the decision the referee gave and it probably sums up our day."

The manager explained that bringing on Paul McMullan for Kallum Higginbotham at half time was a tactical substitution:-

"I think I could probably have taken off four or five people at half time! We are much better than that. In bits and pieces we actually passed the ball alright but as a goal threat we need to do a lot more, we need to work harder.

"Second half we got a reaction from the players and I thought young Paul (McMullan) came on and gave us a spark. That is what seemed to be missing. He did well, he was a threat and I thought the performance levels were much better in the second half."

The substitutes made their presence felt in the second half and AJ revealed that there are a few `chapping on the door`

"It was good to see Michael Paton back. He is a big player who has not had a lot of game time but it was good to get 90 minutes out of him. We have got to learn and learn quick. We are giving away cheap goals.

"I don`t think there was a massive difference between the teams when you look at the game again. Probably the big decisions did not go our way. That Spency incident, Ben`s (Richards-Everton) header - we could have done a bit better, but we have to be a bit more creative in the final third."

Queen of the South had six corners to the Pars one despite the possession stats showing 50/50. The manager put that down to not getting going at all in the first half:-

"In the second half I thought we were the better team despite being down to ten men. We were the ones creating the chances and they were on the back foot but you certainly have to start games better than that and have a wee bit more belief."

Joe Cardle was missing through illness and the manager added:-

"Joe is a massive player for us but we have good players, so even though Joe was missing, we should still have players capable of stepping in no problem. He is a big player but he will be back for next week."

The manager had no news on any further signings, he has been looking at strikers:-

"There is a couple that we have been looking at. We are speaking to them so we will just have to wait and see what happens over the next few days. Even then if they are out of contract we can still sign them after the transfer window closes anyway."

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