Listen to this James McPake interview
James McPake told the media post match:-
“I’m happy we’ve guaranteed Championship football. Probably now you can see why through the week I was cautious in saying it wasn’t all done. With the Queen’s Park result, had we lost the game it would have been a nervy game next week. I’m not happy with five minutes to go we were hanging on at home just for a point to secure a place in this league but if you take things into context and look at the injuries and everything that came with them, the last time we were in this league we did get relegated. So, it’s a consolation but we got the point. We were disappointed in the level of performance again, and we know there’s a lot of work to do – and it’s going to be a big summer.”
Does today’s game sum up the way your season has gone for you with the disruption of injuries?
“Today, we had a strong squad, so there’s certainly no excuse in terms of the performance. We knew Inverness were going to come fighting for their lives. They’ve got a manager who would have had them really motivated.
“Queen’s Park was the same last week, and I don’t know why we were so nervy in the game. It certainly looked like we were nervy, it’s a young squad, so maybe that’s the case. We just did enough in the game, if I’m honest. In terms of chances created, there wasn’t much from both teams. There were loads of balls, second balls, third balls to deal with in our box. To be fair to the players, they did that. I’m really disappointed with the goal we lost.
“On reflection, when we look over it, it has been tough. Every season is. You’re going to have moments in the season when things are tough but we certainly can’t use the injuries for last week’s or today’s performance. It’s two home games and two points, and that’s the disappointment but we need to work hard. We’ve got another game to go and then we’ve got time to rest a few players, get a few players up to speed. Then it’s going to be a big pre-season and a big season next year.”
Kyle Benedictus played a big captain’s part with a goal and his defending?
“It was a really good goal and really good cross from Paul Allan with his left foot and a good header. Coming back from an injury, he’s done great. He’s helped stabilise, helped us a lot but he is fighting to get through games. Being out for while, it’s probably a good thing for Bene that the season is ending. He’ll need the rest then it’s big pre-season. He’ll be disappointed with the amount of games that he’s missed. Today we needed him and Deniz showed his value to the team – that’s four penalties in four that he’s saved. He’s had some big saves at key moments earlier on in the game which stopped it being even more nervy. It’s a point, we’re safe, and we have a chance of finishing fifth. That’s the aim for next week.”
Match Report: 27/04/24 – Dunfermline 1 Inverness Caley Thistle 1
