Ross: We Can Live With Expectations

Jack Ross talked to the website this week about the increased pressure the team is feeling from Bully Wee supporters this season, and also talked about the week’s events past and present…

How crucial was it to get the right outcome on Tuesday? – “It was a very important win after Saturday’s result. We were frustrated and disappointed after Saturday’s second half performance and when we lost the goal we were feeling the pressure. At 2-1, we just wanted to hear the final whistle. We would like to have kept the ball better near the end but the win is the main thing. Coming back from a goal down again shows that we have that bit of character and I don’t think they were a bad side at all.”

Any thoughts on the draw for the next round? – “During my time at Clyde, we’ve not had a lot of luck in the cup draws. We’ve played Hearts and Motherwell at Broadwood, but they aren’t massive games or huge money-spinners for the club. It would be nice for the Chairman, players and supporters if we got one of the major clubs away from home. If you don’t get that, then you want a good chance to progress; one or the other. At least we don’t have the situation of watching Airdrie pull a good draw out of the hat as has happened before. I would probably like a game against a side that we feel we are aiming to be like and would also give a right good game.”

Do you think the increased expectations at the club are having an effect on the players, especially on Saturday? – “There were factors on Saturday that we’ve talked about since then. The Manager has admitted he made a couple of mistakes and the players didn’t respond very well to the situation. As a team we just didn’t perform in the second half, which is so disappointing after finishing the stronger side at the end of the first. I spoke about the expectations at the start of the season, and I think they do put pressure on you but I would much rather have that than be going to away grounds in January sitting in 6th or 7th place. Everyone associated with the club would. Having said that, all of a sudden supporters think we should be ‘steam-rollering’ through teams, but that’s because we’ve set ourselves those standards and it’s our job to keep them; and I think we will. We haven’t set this place alight like we did last season yet. We’ve been a bit up and down, but we’re only 1 point off the top which is a lot better than it was at this stage last season. Results are the most important thing at the moment, performances are forgotten pretty quickly.”

The Queen of the South match is a big one now… – “It’s a huge game. They had a good result on Tuesday. We only took 1 point out of 6 there last season, but it’s the type of game we have to get a result from if we are serious about going for the Championship. I think Tuesday will have helped the boys, it’s nicer to go on the back of that rather than Saturday.”

You’ll be hoping to get on the scoresheet… – “I’m keeping the champagne I won on Tuesday for my first goal of the season, which is long overdue! I’m getting a bit of stick for it, but I must have had about 75 shots on Tuesday! Hopefully it’ll be opened on Saturday.”
————————————————————————–
Pictures courtesy of Frank Tocher and SNSpix.com