Thursday 3rd August 2017
AFTER surviving in the Championship five times, Dumbarton will hopefully have less predictions for relegation from outsiders this season.
But even if they are still tipped to struggle, it won’t bother Chris Johnston.
The winger lost the battle for survival in the Championship to Sons as a Raith Rovers player last season.
Now that he is a Dumbarton player, he’s as well-positioned as anybody to know what his new club can achieve.
And with the bid for a sixth survival starting tomorrow against Morton, Chris insists that there is only one way to look.
Chris told www.dumbartonfootballclub.com: “I think we should just look up the way rather than setting targets.
“If you just keep going into games wanting to win and get three points then who knows where you can go?
“We certainly don’t want to be looking behind us or we could end up in a position we don’t want to be in.
“In that way, it’s a good league – if you have a good season you can end up anywhere.
“Every season, people write off the part-time teams, but last year you saw how well Dumbarton did.
“It’s nothing to do with fitness as part-time players keep themselves fit anyway. It’s not as if I’m going to be fit just because I’m part-time.
“I’ve a lot of confidence in the team. We’re not reading too much into what people say – we’re just concentrating on ourselves.”
As a young player with Kilmarnock, Chris was looking set for a promising future at Rugby Park before he was hit by a nasty injury.
But although he is now part-time, and looking for work outwith the game, he insists he hasn’t taken a step backward.
And still aged only 22, he’s certain that the opportunity is there for him to return to the level he played at with Killie.
He added: “Everybody wants to play at the highest level they can, and I am no different.
“I had a bad injury in my final year with Kilmarnock, and last year just wasn’t a great season.
“Some people might look at the last couple of years and think ‘He’s had it’, but I’m well over my injury. It’s all behind me now and if I have a good season, I’m capable of getting back to the top.
“For now, I have to look to do something out of the game. I’m just getting settled into things so in the next few weeks I will be looking for something to fill my time.”
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Andy Galloway