“When we lost the game here against Dundee it’s going to be difficult to get them lifted when you know the league’s gone and you can’t win that.

“We’ve had a tough few weeks in terms of results.

“The cup final was a blow and it’s just about trying to get through the last couple of games. In fairness to them it’s been good. We’ve had a progressive season certainly and I’ve seen a lot of improvement in a lot of players which is pleasing.

“Ultimately, we finish 4th in the table and that doesn’t really count for too much. It’s more about getting through it unless you win the league. In terms of where we finished it was disappointing we lost the goal late, but I thought in general we were good. The first half was very much an end of season game for both teams. I thought we were a bit braver in the second half and we got a bit more joy and arguably created the better chances in the game and probably did deserve to win it. It’s just about being a bit cuter and streetwise. I talk about David Dangana keeping it in the corner and it breaks to Kevin Hanratty who’s a chance to roll it in the corner, but he tried to do a bit more, which is a bit naïve, but he’s young and it’s about trying to rectify those things and make sure we learn from it. That’s the most important thing.

“David shows everything he is when he goes through in behind with his pace and power. He looks so strong when he’s hunting it down and you always fancy him when he’s getting closer and closer. That is the biggest part of it and once it’s there he slows himself and keeps his composure to slide it in. Arguably wee Max has got excited when he missed his two opportunities, but it was a good goal in terms of that power and pace to get in behind them.

“For the main they’ve been great until maybe the last wee bit of the season. They’ve been a good bunch and I’ve said that in there and thanked them for their efforts. Just as a group they’ve been good to work for each other, willing to learn and it’s been a really enjoyable season. I’ve loved going into work every day and they’ve made it that wee bit easier this season and have been a credit to themselves.

“The aim (of the introduction of the reserve league) is to get them in and playing with more experienced and senior players next season. Hopefully that will help their development. We always know it’s not always easy just playing at 20’s when you get to a certain age. With Sam Roscoe and Harlain at 1998’s it’s their last year so it’s difficult for them and they need to get out more and get more men’s football. It’s trying to get that balance and hopefully the reserve league managers will throw players at it and they’ll get experience from that. It may give an opportunity for younger players to go out on loan that probably aren’t playing as much as they’d like so hopefully we can get the balance right as the season develops.

“I hope it’s bright and ultimately, it’s up to themselves. They need to go away from the club and look after themselves and come back in pre-season bursting with energy and enthusiasm, fit and look after themselves. It’s up to the individual and yes, we’ll try guide them as much as we can, but your Bruce Anderson’s, Dean Campbell’s and Seb Ross’s who are around the first team, they have to come back with the thought process being they need to get closer and if they can do that then that’s all we can ask from them.

“It’s about recognising that every training session and every game matters, whether it’s here, on loan or breaking into the first team, it’s just that recognition of what they want to be personally. I know we harp on about him all the time, but Scott McKenna is the model professional as a young boy and every player from under 10’s and upwards in the Academy should be looking at him and looking after themselves the way he did so they give themselves the best possible opportunity to be first team players at this club.”