Forfar Athletic 2 East Fife 3

SPFL League 1
Tuesday 4 May 2021
Station Park, Forfar 

There was, of course, a depressing familiarity in the fact that the final match of Forfar’s relegation-bound campaign in League 1 ended with the concession of a last-minute goal. But amidst that disappointment, there was also room for much optimism. In their search for what would have been a third successive victory, the Loons again showed the obvious signs of the improvement in performance that have taken place since the promotion of Gary Irvine to interim coach and now, manager of the club. 

  Given that fact, it was no surprise to hear the new boss introducing a mixture of pragmatism and positivity to his post-match thoughts. In what will be his step onto the management ladder, he has already made a difference to the atmosphere surrounding the squad of which he remains a part. 

  “I can’t say I imagined being in this position at the start of the season,” said Irvine, who played all 90 minutes in the season-ending 3-2 loss to East Fife at Station Park. “As I’ve said in previous interviews, everything has happened so quickly. The fixture list has been incredibly hectic since the end of lockdown. So it’s been a bit of a whirlwind for the team and myself. But I’m delighted to be appointed manager. I’ve really enjoyed the job since I've come in.

  “Still, there’s no getting away from how disappointing the season has been. But hopefully, everyone can see what the players have offered me in the last few games. Yes, we’ve run out of time and come up short. But there has definitely been a change in effort levels and, in some cases, results too. There have been some real positives and tonight was another example of that.”

  Indeed, Forfar can count themselves unlucky to lose a match in which they twice led. Crucially, however, both advantages turned out to be brief. Rarely has the notion that a team is never more vulnerable than in the minutes immediately following the scoring of a goal been so cruelly underlined. In all, the Loons were ahead for a total of only five minutes.

  “We gave so much out there and just came up short at the end,” continued Irvine. “We were creating the whole game and had a chance to go ahead just before they went up the park and scored. Unfortunately, that’s a similar story to what we’ve seen in a lot of games this season. One that comes to mind is the recent match away to Dumbarton. We pieced all the way to the end there. We created chances and were probably the better team. So we were trying to win the game before they got a late goal. These are things we need to work on.”

  In that vein, Irvine’s mind is clearly already looking to the future and the Loons’ first season in League Two since 2016-17.

  “I’ll be sitting down with the board to look at the squad,” he said. “We’ll be assessing things and it will be hard work. I’ve said that to the players already. I’ll be setting targets for them. The aim - as it is for every team that is relegated - is to be ready for the new season and to bounce right back. That’s the message I’ll be putting to the players. 

  “Of course, there will be changes. The players have seen that already in the way that I work. We need to be more positive and believe in ourselves. As far as my backroom team is concerned, that is another thing I’ll be discussing with the board and the chairman. I would hope that there will be an announcement by next week, if not by the end of this week. We’ve got a long summer of hard work ahead. I was thinking I might have a week off. But where my head is at the moment, I’m not sure about that. I’m excited and I’ve got energy. I’m dying to get started.”