Assistant manager Gav Skelton spoke to us after Monday’s friendly against Rangers.
“I thought it was a really good game and I think both teams will have got a lot from it,” he said. “We obviously needed a game, but I thought in terms of performance levels they were really good.
“There were some good individual performances in and out of possession. I thought their attitude was first class and hopefully we’ll take a lot from it.
“It wasn’t just about minutes although that is important. In terms of performance level, how they played, how they applied themselves and their attitude, I thought it was absolutely first-class.
“We’re pleased with how it went but we’re disappointed not to win the game. I thought we were the better team if you look at chances created and shots on goal. We were the team who probably had the better of that, so we’re disappointed not to win the game but there are lots of positives.
“The only criticism is we don’t keep a clean sheet which has been a difficult part of the season overall. That was disappointing because their goal came from the only real spell of pressure they had, we just didn’t see it off. That’s frustrating, there are reasons for it, but I want to concentrate on the positives.
“Their attitude to do both sides of the game was there. There was an attack with ten minutes to go and they all sprinted back to make sure we didn’t concede because they didn’t want to lose the game. That shows good character and good personality.
“We did well in the second half. I asked them where the goal came from, and it was about us regaining and retaining the ball when we gave it away which meant we had three or four waves of attack which builds pressure and makes defenders make poor decisions. That led to the penalty.
“It’s important to get minutes in a friendly but also to get a result. In the predicament we’re in it was important to get any positive result today. The result and the performance are important, there are positives to come from the game and there hasn’t been many of them at late.”
“You look at the result from Saturday and the position we’re in, we can’t hide behind it, we need the competition,” he continued. “These lads have come up here and shown a good attitude. It was an entertaining game to watch, I thought we played some really good stuff at times. Our energy levels were excellent. I thought they did themselves no harm in how they went about things.
“Anyone who is available can put themselves in the manager’s thoughts. We can’t hide behind Saturday at all so this was a perfect time to play for these lads.
“I’m sure there are lots of things to think about for the manager. It might make it difficult if we were winning every game, but results aren’t going our way so games like this are a fantastic opportunity for people to get into the manager’s thoughts.”
