Stephen Robinson met with the media on Friday morning ahead of our game against Hibernian.
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Work rate
“When you work really, really hard, and the boys have been working hard collectively, with 10 men it was even better and it gets highlighted even more.
“They carried that into the Tuesday night game because we didn’t start particularly well. You’ve got to look and be honest with that. We didn’t start particularly well, but our organisation and work rate made sure we were still in the game.
“And as you say, the clinical aspect, which we’ve not had, was the difference between the two teams. We were really, really clinical, four good finishes.
“And obviously that carries the headlines, but the hard work and organisation before that is the big thing to take away from it.”
Hibs and David Gray
“Obviously I have the utmost respect for David Gray. I thought he’d done a fantastic job at Hibs, finishing third and fifth. It just shows you how ruthless the game is now. You know, there were six games in and he’s in a semi-final.
“So I have nothing but admiration for David, as a player for Hibs and a manager for Hibs. I always found him very, very good to get on with and very, very clever tactically as well as a manager.
“So that was really disappointing. As you say, they’ve put experience in there (John Potter) and, no doubt, they’ll be looking to replace it. But we have to concentrate on ourselves.
“They haven’t changed players, they’ve changed manager. We know that it won’t be that much different. So we have to make sure we turn up in the exact same form and attitude that we did the last two games and try and get a result out of another away fixture.”
Competition for places
“A little bit of both. We’re trying to get consistency in selection. I made changes at half-time in two games, which you don’t want to do and obviously tells you it’s not going particularly well.
“So, when you get a good performance, good result, you try and keep it as simple as possible without making changes. Injuries may dictate that, and as you say, tiredness may dictate some of that, but we’ll try and keep it as solid as we possibly can.
“I think Gavin Molly is a manager’s dream. He reminds me of Marcus Fraser at St Mirren. They just get on with it. They don’t complain about anything. You can play them in any position. If they’re not in the team, they train harder.
“He’s going to get a lot of stick for me calling him a manager’s dream now from the players. But he is. He’s just an ultimate pro, and he got his just rewards on Tuesday night.
“Findlay Marshall is someone we have real high hopes for. He’s come in, he doesn’t look like he’s affected by any kind of pressure. He gives us legs and energy, which we don’t particularly have in midfield.
“We’ve got real good technical players, and he adds something different in that midfield area. So really pleased for him. And now can we get a couple of goals to his game, which he certainly got in there as well.”
Team news and injury updates
“Lewis Mayo’s a doubt. Stuart Armstrong, a little bit of a doubt.
“Emma Gyamfi and Kristers Tobers, they are still obviously not in the squad, but they’re training. Emma will be involved in the KDM games next week, which is really good news for us as well.
“Kristers isn’t quite there yet, but he will start integrating into full training. He’s been training non-contact. So that’s good news for us as well and a real milestone for him. Hopefully we get through next week with him as well.
A good run
“Results. Results change everything. Results change the narrative.
“Sometimes you don’t play as well as the results suggest, but if you win, it hides all faults. If you lose, every fault is opened for scrutiny, and that’s the job, unfortunately.
“You’ve just seen a Hibs manager lose his job who finished third and finished fifth, qualified for Europe two years in a row. So that’s the industry we’re in.
“People talk about young players, style of play, winning football matches silences everything. And that’s ultimately what you have to do to stay in the job.”
Work in progress
“We’re certainly not the finished article. We certainly aren’t. And, you know, we would never claim that. I think if we were top of the league, I wouldn’t claim that. There are always things to be better at.
“I always knew this was going to be transitional this season. We knew that at the start of it. With the amount of change, it was going to take time, with ups and downs. I’ve said that numerous times.
“And we know that we’ve got a good squad in the making. Do we need to add to that squad? Of course we do. When we get down the line into Christmas time, we know we’re going to have to add more to that.
“But what we have now is a group of boys that will run. They will try and play at the right times, they try and play in the right areas, and confidence is key.
“Winning football matches breeds confidence, and you could see that when we scored two, we scored three. Everybody relaxed a little bit. The travelling support were fantastic again with the players.”
Adrian Bevington
“Yeah, I did this morning (sat down with him). We had a really good chat.
“Adrian comes with a really good reputation and obviously worked at really good levels. So I’m looking forward to working with him.
“I think it works perfectly well (dynamic between Chief Executive, Sporting Director, Chairman). Lutz takes care of the football side of things. He takes huge pressure off me, dealing with agencies and leads the recruitment side of things as well until I get to that stage.
“And Adrian’s there to oversee that and put his experience into that. He’s got vast experience, worked with a lot of managers, worked with the English FA.
“I think it’s a combination that’ll work really, really well, as it does at every other club. I don’t think it’s any different or any different setup than any other big club in the country.
