Head coach Alan Stubbs has given his reaction to the four nil victory over Berwick in the Scottish Cup quarter finals.
With goals from Cummings, Stevenson, Stanton and Fontaine putting us through to the semi finals of the competition – and as we now know a tie against Falkirk, Stubbs gave his reaction to the victory and joked for the second one that nobody was quite sure what Stevenson was actually doing there.
In quotes carried by the Scotsman following the game, he explained.
‘Even though we weren`t on our A game I thought we were very professional. The goals in the first half settled us down and as long as we didn`t do anything silly or lose concentration, we always looked like we would score and add to our tally. Berwick deserve a lot of credit; they can hold their heads high. Coming here was always going to be a big ask for them.’
Stubbs goes on to say that there is obviously a magic and a romance to the cup competitions, and Berwick had more than embraced that on their journey to the quarter finals and they were there on merit and would’ve wanted to cause a shock against us, but he and the players were determined that wasn’t going to happy so it was a professional display and a professional mental focus from them on the day.
‘There was a quality about the first two goals, a real understanding of interchanging and quick one-touch play. Maybe the last person you`d have thought would have been on the end of the second one would have been Lewis Stevenson but that`s what he`s added to his game. He has a belief and is playing more in the middle to final third and chipping in with a few goals. He`s very much Mr Shy-Guy and you can see that from his celebrations as he doesn`t really know what to do with them. But you saw in the players` reactions to the goal that he`s a very popular guy in the dressing-room.’
Despite the four nil scoreline being comprehensive, Stubbs admitted that given the nature of Berwick’s rise through the rounds of the competition he knew he couldn’t relax until the final minute because he’s been in the game long enough to know that if you lose your focus and professionalism, especially in games like this, it has a habit of biting you and he knows a goal for them even at four one, would’ve ramped up the intensity and the tension and set it up for a nervy game – so keeping the clean sheet was vital to us seeing the game out in the manner we did.
Having now moved through to the semi finals, but at the point of giving his initial after match reaction not knowing how the draw would fall for us at that stage, the Brechin Advertiser carry.
‘I’m delighted for the players because it’s not about me, it’s about them. They are the ones who cross that white line and deserve all the credit for getting there. The quarter-finals is a horrible position because you are so close – and so far. The next worst is the semi-final, because again you are so close to a major cup final. But the players have given themselves an opportunity and I honestly feel it’s one they will grab hold of. We are going to go and enjoy it and have a right good go.’
Stubbs ends by saying the one thing we won’t do is go to the national stadium simply thinking we are having a day out, as he doesn’t feel there would be any worse attitude to carry than that.
A day out is for the fans, for the players it’s about progression.
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