Manager Post Motherwell

12/07/18: Link to audio of Allan Johnston`s post match comments

"It was definitely competitive, it was a hard fought game especially first half. There wasn`t much football first half but in the second half I thought we settled down, contained them really well and obviously passed the ball better.

"We probably had the best chance of the game that we should probably have scored from. As the game went on I felt we improved, there were some good individual performances.

"I felt Louis Longridge was getting better and better as the game went on. There were a lot of positives and it is another step closer to the competitive games."

Motherwell did not give Dunfermline much time on the ball and AJ said that you can see why they have been so successful:-

"Last year they were in two cup finals and they will be trying to improve on their league position as well. We knew that it was going to be a difficult task tonight but I thought that we restricted them to very few opportunities.

"They are a threat at setpieces with their height and the presence that they have got, but we dealt with it well."

After losing what the manager described as `sloppy` goals on Saturday there was some solace in keeping a clean sheet against the Premiership team:-

"The boys are improving. I thought that was probably Danny Devine`s best game and Mark Durnan`s best game as well. It is good to see them improving game by game. Obviously we need to start scoring some goals as well. That is the other side of it but hopefully with bringing in guys like Faissal El Bakhtaoui that will help us."

The manager expressed his delight in getting Faiss to return to East End Park:-

"I think everybody knows how much I like Faiss, he is a top player with a great work ethic, great skill and I`m sure that he will excite our fans. It is not just his goals, it is his energy and the quality that he brings to the team. I`m sure that it will give us a massive lift.

"You can see that we are getting there, we have been improving game by game and we just have to keep on improving. You can see the squad is starting to take shape. We are starting to get a bit more competition now throughout the whole squad. It is amazing how much difference a week can make."

Dunfermline fielded a trialist upfront for the final half hour and he had the best chance of the match. The manager would not put a name on his trialist but did let slip that he came from `down south`.

"He has only been up a couple of days. It is hard to make decisions but he didn`t do much wrong. It is always worthwhile having a look and you could see that he was unlucky not to score. He was in the right position, so he wasn`t far away."

Motherwell manager Steve Robinson only spoke to Motherwell media

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