May 20th on the Dee Post-Match: “I'm pleased we've got ourselves back in the game. They were using the conditions better than us and were in control at 2-0. They will be disappointed that they have conceded but will still probably feel they are in the driving seat. But it's a massive goal for us in the context of the two legs and puts us right back in the tie. Ultimately – particularly with the second goal – we've committed really bad errors. Gary shouldn't get caught on the ball and the first goal we don't track the run. We didn't play as well as we'd have liked but I'm really pleased that we stuck at it and got that all-important goal to get us back in the tie. I'm just so pleased we got that goal back because it makes things a little bit easier. It's still going to be difficult to turn things around and they are probably favourites. The quality has got to be better but the character is there. There are pundits out there who have hammered their character but I've never doubted it. I'm hoping that's going to be a big turning point in the tie.”come from other players as well. We don't just rely on Kyle." - Match Recap -
May 16th on the Accies Post-Match "For Ross County to get three wins on the bounce at this stage of the season, you've got to hand it to them. I can't ask any more from my players. When I came in I thought 36 points would have been enough. Unfortunately, it isn't. But we can take this performance and the performances in the last 10 games into the play-off. Dundee have had a good season but we'll concentrate on ourselves and I'm pleased with how we are playing. I think we're in a strong position going in." - Match Recap -
On Facing Dundee in the Play-Offs: “I watched Dundee on Saturday night and we saw them against Dunfermline earlier in the season as well as having scouting reports on them. Everything is sitting ready to go, though it’s one of those files on your computer you’d rather you didn’t have to open! They’ve done what James McPake was probably asked to do in getting a play-off place. They’ve got quality, good experience, a bit of pace, some good young players and Charlie Adam is probably still one of the best passers and crossers of the ball in Scotland. So we know the difficulty of the task ahead of us, but I’m sure they’ll be looking at us and thinking we’re a decent side. It’s all set up for a big, big finale.”
On Facing Dundee in the Play-Offs: “I watched Dundee on Saturday night and we saw them against Dunfermline earlier in the season as well as having scouting reports on them. Everything is sitting ready to go, though it’s one of those files on your computer you’d rather you didn’t have to open! They’ve done what James McPake was probably asked to do in getting a play-off place. They’ve got quality, good experience, a bit of pace, some good young players and Charlie Adam is probably still one of the best passers and crossers of the ball in Scotland. So we know the difficulty of the task ahead of us, but I’m sure they’ll be looking at us and thinking we’re a decent side. It’s all set up for a big, big finale.”
May 12th on the Buddies Post-Match: "Pleased with the quality of the play, and the attitude of the players but slightly disappointed with the naivety conceding two similar goals after we've scored. We've come away again from a game where we should've had all three points. We do know we can defend better." - Match Recap -
May 1st on the Well Post-Match: “Motherwell deserved to win. We didn’t do enough. We came here looking for all three points but we didn’t deserve them. We didn’t start the game well - Motherwell looked sharper than us without really creating a lot. Then it’s all right talking in the dressing-room about going out and doing well and making sure they do the right things. It was a good finish but it was a poor goal for us to concede, with too many mistakes in the build-up. There was a reaction when we went 1-0 down and we didn’t let our heads drop, we tried to get in the game. But it was criminal defending at the second goal, and that was the game dead and buried. We’ve got ten days before the next game and we’ve got to make sure we win that. I thought two wins would be enough and if we do that we’ll definitely make the play-offs and give ourselves an outside chance of making tenth spot. The performance in the Cup on Monday night was good but this wasn’t a good performance. There are players who can do a lot better. You need eight or nine on their game and we didn’t have enough today. So they know they’ve put themselves back in a position we’d got ourselves out of a couple of weeks ago. We can’t depend on other teams, I’ve been constant about that. We’ve got to look after ourselves and we didn’t do that today. We have to make sure we do our own thing and we didn’t do it well enough. We can’t use Monday’s game as an excuse in us looking a little bit lethargic at times. It was more a mindset.” - Match Recap -
Apr 26th on the Buddies 119th-minute penalty award : "It's extremely disappointing, Let's be honest, Don Robertson put it into penalties with a poor decision. When he is man enough he will own up to it. I will go and see him after the game. Over the years I have been in to see Don more than any other ref. We could have dealt with the situation better, [Ross] Millen could possibly just put his foot through it, but it is not a penalty all day long, The goalkeeper clearly gets the ball, the fact that it spills out is irrelevant. No penalty. But Don wanted to have the final say and he got it." - Match Recap -
April 21st on the Arabs Post-Match: "The main thing for us is getting the three points. We knew the Hamilton result before kick-off so it was a big three points for us. Then we heard St Mirren had won up at Ross County so it opens up a bit of a gap and gets us up to 10th place. We've been down there for far too long, But I'm not thinking the job's done - it's nowhere near done. We still need a couple of wins to make sure we can stay in this league. It now gives us a little bit of a cushion but there's a lot of hard work to go, but in terms of it being a good night for us - most definitely." - Match Recap -
April 17th on the Montrose Cup Post-Match: "We didn't play as well as I'd have liked but the main thing is we are through to the next round. Throughout the game we gave them wee opportunities when we turned over the ball far too cheaply. We got a little bit sloppy, particularly in the second half. Sometimes, when you are in control, concentration levels can go." - Match Recap -
April 10th on the Staggies Post-Match: “We asked for a fast start and we got it. We conceded far too early and too cheaply for my liking. And Ross County made it difficult for us, we didn’t get into any rhythm first half, even though we went 2-1 up. We didn’t move the ball quickly enough. I think we were a bit one dimensional at times in the first half. So, it’s never nice when you concede so quickly after taking the lead. But fair play to the players, they scrapped and got us ahead at half time. Ross County equalised, even though there looked to be a push on Zach, and they probably deserved to be level with us. It probably wasn’t until the last 20, 25 minutes that we took any real control of the game. I think it is encouraging we’re scoring goals. If you’re talking about performance overall, how I like the team to play and how they have been playing, it’s probably been one of our poorer ones. And the players know that. But, listen, it’s a good point and it’s a point away from the bottom of the table and we’ve still got a lot to play for.” - Match Recap -
April 9th on John Hughes: "I don't really listen to John too much. He probably talks too much. Our focus has just been on ourselves. Maybe he should just focus on his team. Maybe referees have caused Ross County to be where they are but I think he's trying to influence the referees. But we'll just concentrate on our own team."
April 3rd on the Stenny Cup Post-Match: "These ties can be as easy or as difficult as you want to make them, but we were on the front foot from the off. To win 4-0, keep a clean sheet and progress in the cup makes it a good day for us. Those goals are why we brought Kyle in and a hat-trick will give him even more confidence than he already has! He’s a big personality, a great lad who I’ve known since being with him at Northern Ireland nine or ten years ago. He’s always one for the practical jokes and the players have a wee smile when they see him coming. But when he’s on the pitch on a Saturday or on the training ground, he’s a real professional.” - Match Recap -
Mar 25th on the Post-Split Fixtures: “My initial thoughts on the split games are that they’re good. There is gaps in between games due to cup dates, but that’s the same for all the teams in the league. The first game is against Ross County. We played them recently so we know all about them. We have got three home games which we were expecting; kicking off with two home games gives us a big opportunity to make our mark. Beating County would lift us out of the bottom two which would be ideal. It would add pressure to the other teams, but there are 15 points to play for and our aim is to take each game as it comes and get as many points as possible. It was an important day for us breaking the losing streak. It was a massive game and the players deserve massive credit for coming through it the way they did. It was an emphatic victory and it should give them confidence to kick-on now for the rest of the season. Motherwell were on a decent run, they picked up some good results so it shows how good it was. I believe we should have had six points from them in the two games we played, but that didn’t happen. On Saturday, though, it didn’t matter who we played it was vital we got ourselves off the bottom. I have been in the game long enough to know that when the lows are there that you have to get on with things. You can’t get too down about things when you’re losing, but it was nice going into work on Monday knowing we picked up three points. It’s getting to that stage of the season where we have got to be strong and positive together. That’s one thing we can’t be criticised for – we have been positive in everything we have tried to do.”
Mar 20th on the Well Post-Match: "I'm really pleased for the players and supporters. We've had to wait a long time for a victory. It was important that we won today, it was important we gave ourselves a chance to stay in this league. We showed a lot of quality and a lot of character to win the game." - Match Recap -
Mar 19th on the Well Pre-Match: "I knew it was going to be tough when I took the job. I believed then I could do enough to keep us in this league, and I still believe that. "The enormity of the job now with the position we're in is massive. If we can do it, it will rank up with any of the achievements I've had in managing or coaching since I started."
Mar 5th on the Staggies Post-Match: "To I've come out and defended our players in my four previous games, but the way we started that second half made it a real uphill struggle. We responded well, but the damage was already done. I still feel I can turn it around, even after a defeat when it's still raw I still feel that I can. The positive is we still have a number of games to turn things around." - Match Recap -
Feb 27th on the Arabs Post-Match: "It's a point closer to where we want to be. To be on the front foot against a side pushing for the top six shows how good we can be. Out of the four games we've had four really good performances. But we've only got one point so there's still a lot of work to do. The players gave everything and I think they showed a lot of character in the game when you consider they go one nil down to come back and get back in the game and we ultimately should have went on to win it." - Match Recap -
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