Get yourself grounded, respect your opponent
Monday, 2nd May 2022JH - “The fans would not have been any more disappointed and frustrated and angered than myself. Especially after what I saw in the first-half.
With a real sense of disappointment following Friday night’s result and second half performance John Hughes has told his players not to feel sorry for themselves since they still have a big job ahead of them:-
“We’ve addressed that already. We’ve prepared them very well - they were off on Saturday, in on Sunday, trained a lot better on Monday and we’ll train again on Tuesday then bring it on on Wednesday.”
Having had their League One opponents, Queen’s Park, watched several times the manager is aware how difficult it’s likely going to be in the semi final of the cinch Championship:-
“They’ve got some right good players in there and they’re well organised, and they play with a good energy - so we’ll have to stand up to that.
“I don’t think it will be won in any shape or form on Wednesday night, but we want also to make sure it’s not lost. There’s all that to take into account and you have to go and stand up to it and embrace the pressure that comes with it. You have to have a pride in your performance to make sure you’re on top form. If that’s the case and we can all get to that, and have that mindset then hopefully it’s enough to win us the match.”
The negative reaction from the Dunfermline fans at the final whistle on Friday night was “understandable” admitted John Hughes who shared their sentiments:-
“The fans would not have been any more disappointed and frustrated and angered than myself. Especially after what I saw in the first-half. I thought, ‘we’re right at it here’ but the second-half performance was a little bit alarming. I’m not shying away from that.
“That scoreline from Ayr United got into the dressing-room, I’m quite sure it did, but that’s not an excuse. You still have to have a pride in your performance. We owed it to the supporters to go out and perform in the second-half.
“Any time you get a wee bit of bad news or a wee dunt, you can’t go under, you have to stand up to it. In fact, it has to energise you. So, that’s something we’ve addressed as well.
“The fans are entitled to show their displeasure, that’s part and parcel of football. When we give them everything we’ve got and we’re winning football matches, then it goes the other way. But come Wednesday we’ll need the supporters.”
And the manager’s message to the players is to address the pressure head on and make sure that all their mental tools are ready to go:-
“That’s why you’re footballers, you need to embrace it. That kind of pressure needs to be your fuel, it needs to be your energy. We’ve all been there, we’ve all got butterflies, but it cannot in any way, shape or form have any kind of influence on your performance.
“One thing I’ve always done and I always did as a player, and I can only pass on my experience, is I always kept myself grounded. I never put myself on a pedestal, I never felt football owed me. If you build yourself up and think about it too much, you can set yourself up for a great fall.
“Get yourself grounded, respect your opponent, respect the team you’re playing against, and be prepared to give it everything that you’ve got. If you do that then nine times out of 10 you’ll put in a good performance.”
Good news for John Hughes is that his captain, Graham Dorrans had no reaction to his 25 minutes on Friday night and is available to play a bigger part in the play-offs:-
"Obviously he played on Friday night, off Saturday, trained with us on Sunday, trained very well today. Do we start him, and see what he`s got, or do we save him and bring him on?
"That was the decision as well, along with Coll Donaldson getting taken off, even on the bench we knew the result from Ayr United, so it was a matter of precaution for Coll Donaldson, although he wouldn`t have seen it like that, and getting minutes in Graham Dorrans.
"We`ll sit down and prepare. We`re halfway there in the preparation of the game and we`ll prepare it. I think Graham`s got that bit between his teeth that we can prevent this. I can just sense that hunger, the way he`s training, the way he`s going about the boys. You can just sense it and that`s rubbing off on one or two others. I`m absolutely delighted to get him back, and as I say, we`ve got a decision to make, does he start, or does he come off the bench."
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