Tuesday 19th July 2016
MANAGER Stevie Aitken admitted that his team were “not good enough” in tonight’s 2-0 Betfred Cup defeat to East Fife.
A lacklustre performance was punished by two first half goals for the visitors, while Grant Gallagher was sent off in the second half.
The gaffer said: “We got what we deserved. We were not good enough and have to take it on the chin and move on, which I am sure we will do.
“The players are disappointed like everybody else. They know they have let themselves and the supporters down and losing two goals like we did, it is going to be an uphill struggle.
“I said at half time that we need to keep everybody on the pitch, so what happened to Grant was disappointing and daft, but was out of frustration.
“We know we still have players to get in. We will work hard to get players in for the league campaign, which is the most important thing.
“We are struggling for bodies at the moment – there is no doubt about that.”
However, Stevie refuted claims that the draw with Forfar, followed by a penalty shootout defeat, then tonight’s result, made for a worrying start.
He added: “We took points off the bigger teams in the Championship last season and that didn’t worry them. It is credit to Forfar for drawing with us, and to East Fife who took their chances tonight.
“Josh Todd was excellent for us tonight and ran his guts out. He has shown a fantastic attitude in coming to the club as an amateur.
“We are talking to clubs who have agreed to loan us players, but it takes time, which is frustrating for myself and the supporters. We need players to come in.”
Andy Galloway