Managers Post Partick
Tuesday, 22nd Mar 202222/03/22: link to audio of both John Hughes and Ian McCall’s post match comments
- - Listen to John Hughes` post match comments
Dunfermline manager John Hughes said:-
"It’s difficult when you feel you are doing a lot of things right in the games - and it’s been like that for a while now but you need to keep believing in the process and the philosophy. They work very hard on the training pitch to try and get it right and when it comes off it is very very pleasing.
“We were not far away on Friday night and it was a matter of can you going again. To be fair to them, they did go again in the first half.
"We lost a soft goal but we showed character, resilience and a wee bit of resolve to get back into it. At 3-1 at half-time you could say the game was dead and buried but we were fully switched on for that and we had to manage it in the second half.
“It might not have been flying forward on the front foot, but it was getting on to second balls, helping each other, doubling up and playing a wee bit more on the counterattack.
“We always know that we have players who can get in there and Dom got his goal although I wish it was a wee bit earlier. A really good performance and I’m absolutely delighted for them.”
You must have felt a result like that was coming?
"It’s been a long time coming and the difference tonight was that they went in. Our crossing was very, very good and I felt in the first half our passing was really good.
“I am delighted, there is a real collective at this football club from the Board Room right down, a real togetherness and everybody with the same objective, we all on the same path.
“We know where we are and we won’t get carried away with this result. We know the consequences and we have to win football matches. Right from the top I just feel that there is a collective spirit where we are all helping each other. I think the boys have signed up to that and the environment that we are trying to create. When we give the fans that entertainment then it is a good place to be.”
What will that result do for the confidence?
“I won’t get carried away, in football every game is different. We will enjoy it for tonight and maybe tomorrow and then you come back and you have to be grounded and humble. That will be the message that I will be saying to the players.
“I am optimistic because I know if we are at it and do the right things we are capable of winning every match from now until the end of the season but football has a real bad habit of not giving you that. If you stick your head too much above the parapet it will take it off. So we keep our feet firmly on the ground, we enjoy tonight and look forward one game at a time and look forward to Inverness.”
Dom Thomas two assists and a goal, fantastic tonight?
“Yes he is in the zone at this moment in time. He has found coming back from injury that we have kept the reins on him. He is not a great patient but it is a mind game you have to play at times with Dom but when he is on that kind of form then he is an asset to any team.
“I am delighted for him, I like Dom, I like all that cockiness, banter and all that. It is right up my street but he needs to know when to do it and when not to do it. It is football first and his football since he has come back in the last two games has been exceptional.”
Would you have a word for Deniz Mehmet as well?
“Brilliant, we had a dilemma there because Deniz was injured and he has not done too much but that goes down to the staff and Neil Alexander as well for working him. We put him through his paces in small sided games so coming back from injury I thought that he was very very good.”
Steven Lawless had to off before the end?
“Steven took a cut to the eye so he will get a couple of stitches.”
Goals from Matty Todd and a first one for Josh Edwards?
“I always say when we go a goal down, you are disappointed but it seems to bring the best out of us. It takes the shackles off us. That was evident tonight, we are under no illusions what is at stake here but if we can keep playing like that and with that spirit and togetherness and that collective spirit we will not be far away.”
Lewis McCann was not in the squad tonight?
“He will be ready to go on Saturday, it is just ligament damage, there is no dislocation just ligament damage.”
Partick Thistle boss Ian McCall said:-
“We scored a great goal and then had too many errors, especially in dangerous areas. Dunfermline deserved to win the game. We made a few chances at the end of the first half but we didn’t create anything in the second.
“The only positive is we got 75 minutes into Scott Tiffoney and he came through it fine. We need to have some perspective as we are pushing for promotion while Dunfermline, a similar size club are trying not to go down.
“The players have been fantastic, is it coincidence that three poor results have come after ten or 11 games I don’t know”
- - Hear from Partick`s Ian McCall
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