Derek, you will be pleased to just find a way to ultimately win it?

Yeah. You’ve seen some Premier League team results today. It is not straightforward. I believe we asked for a solid start, and we got it. I believed we could have been a few ahead in the first 20-25 minutes, but then Jamie Wilson scores. That should have calmed us down, and we had a couple excellent moments afterward, though we should have done better.

Then Dunfermline scores on their one meaningful opportunity, which I believe was their first shot, and it knocks you back. It causes the audience to back off. It’s like, this isn’t going to be scripted. This is not what is supposed to happen.

And at halftime, we attempted to calm the boys down a little bit by saying, “Look, we’ve got to understand why the game is at this level.” The game will now last 45 minutes. If we had shown up before the game today and said, “You have 45 minutes to beat Dunfermline,” we would still have accepted the challenge, but it was up to us to do a little more. And I thought we had decent control, but we had to push and puff a little bit in the second half. But I didn’t think we’d lose the game, and I wasn’t sure we’d win it.

I believe I made the substitutions around five minutes after we were discussing them. But, for the first time in the game, I believe the Dunfermline boys thought they may perhaps win this here. And you could feel their support because we weren’t as composed and confident in ourselves as we should have been. And just when they believed they’d started promoting a few more bodies into our half for the first time in the game, we did the opposite. Games are rarely decided tactically. That can sometimes be overplayed.

Many games are decided by spectacular goals, but others are determined by mistakes. I spoke with Lenny there, and I believe we forced mistakes. We were in a better position to question their defenders because I believe they were more exposed because, for the first time in the game, they believed they could win. And the score runs away from them. We won the game 4-1. It flatters us. It’s hard on Dunfermline. I enjoyed the first 25 minutes and the final 15 minutes of the game. Everything in between was just okay and it’s clear that we still got work to do.

Excellent contribution from your captain tonight?

Yeah. His fitness was good, but the reason he stays on the pitch when the game is tight is that you believe there will be a moment when he can demonstrate his calmness, experience, and talent.

because a penalty is a penalty; you still have to remain calm, because the game is carefully balanced. So he achieves his two goals. He’s away, feeling great about himself. I love how the audience reacts. Not only did Lawrence come off, but the entire squad won the game, which is difficult to do at this point in the season. We have everything to lose in today’s game. I didn’t have much to gain, but I believe there were many excellent aspects to the game. But, to be honest, we need to do things a little more naturally, and we need to develop as we progress through the competition.

It was a brilliant striker’s goal for Wilson. Does he particularly please you?

Yes, he does. I think he did exceptionally well in preseason. You know, as a young kid, you have the innate desire to run and to please. He’s still learning the game, but he’s incredibly intelligent for his age. But he also understands that when you’re young, you have to learn how to use your body. He still isn’t sure how to use his physique. And that’s good; he’s 18, but he’s actually recovered, and he’s much stronger and more robust than I expected. And he’s an extremely intelligent player. He’ll only get better, James. He’s probably had as good a pre-season as any of the boys and I think they’ve all contributed well over the pre-season. So, he gets a goal against Crawley, he gets his goal again the day. Lost him from the game a wee bit as we fell out the game a wee bit in terms of not being as active running about Dunfermline’s goal for a period in the second half.

I mean of all the things we need to do, he’s way down the line in terms of things to worry about. He’s fine, he’s going the right way.

How do you assess the new boys on their debuts?

I thought Braga showed wee moments. I think he needs to learn about Tynecastle. I think he needs to learn about opponents, they’re not going to let him have a lot of time. He played that role for us against Crawley, against the same shape, and I thought he was really effective. I think he showed he’s capable. He’s got wee moments, but there’s also things he needs to tidy up on. The Scottish game will find you out if you’re not sharp and take care of the ball a wee bit more. But I think he can be pleased as all of them can, playing their part in a winning performance.

And large Oisin was slightly out of position, but we wanted to try an aggressive press. On that side, we wanted Forrest to play to get to the outside of Dunfermline’s left-sided centre-back, the huge Todd. And when it worked, it was excellent.

However, while it is not his natural position, I believe he shown his ability to perform effectively in it. He added quite a few crosses. He appeared to have the most touches on the ball in the first half, and I would prefer that my full-backs and centre-backs did not have the most touches. I believe he can be pleased.

As I mentioned earlier, the first game of the season can catch you off guard. No matter what I did in pre-season, whether it was old school Walter Smith or a slightly more modern technique, you were always shattered in your first game. You were always exhausted during it, and the temperatures didn’t help. And I believe that once the players have completed the game, they will feel better for having spent 90 minutes on their legs.

And, I believe it is necessary to note that the substitutes all contributed to our success. I believe the substitutes all played a part. Each of them had a favourable impact on the game. So, Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday, then Saturday for big Craig’s [testimonial] game. We’ll utilise the squad going into the game on Tuesday again.

How important for Lawrence to get off the mark on day one rather than kind of chasing that first goal as it was last season?

I believe forwards can win a game, but players like Lawrence do not win the same way [if they do not score], and there is nothing wrong with it.

I mean, he’s a captain who enjoys seeing his team win, but players like Lawrence, number 9s, don’t want to get back in their car if they haven’t scored a goal. They always feel good about themselves after scoring a goal. And getting two and up and running, the reception he had going off… you always want your striker to score.

Except for Lawrence, everyone of our attackers scored in a friendly match against East Kilbride this week. And then obviously Wilson gets his goal the day, Kabangu has an impact in proceedings as well. So it’s, it’s great that he’s up and running. And I think you can see how important he going to be because when we were good, he was good in the game.

Did Zander get a knock in the warm-up?

He did. He may have severed his thumb. We strapped it on, and he appeared to be okay. So, no, I believe he made it through the game, but there were some nerve-racking moments during the warm-up.

How did you enjoy Tynecastle for the first time?

I enjoyed it. To be honest, I’d like to enjoy it more. I want to make sure there’s a little more tranquilly. I like seeing what we did, and I frequently requested the players to perform what we asked. It went fine for the first 20-25 minutes, and I assumed we were out of sight. And if you can score two or three goals, the game improves and becomes more satisfying.

However, we must understand that when goals are not achieved, we do not encourage the other teams. And I just thought the goal was similar to the goal we lost against St Mirren where we lose it in a bad area and they punished us and it just all seemed a bit too easy.

So I didn’t enjoy that bit. But I enjoyed the first 20-25 minutes and the end of the game. And, like everything, you simply adore winning. The League Cup can trip up any manager who is starting out the day or weekend. And I believed we had enough professional talent and bench options to win today’s game. So you have to enjoy it.

With your appointment and the new signings, there’s been a lot of fan excitement and expectation. Did you get a feel for that with the crowd today?

Yeah, I thought it was fantastic; a very strong turnout for this time of year. The game is broadcast live on television. For a League Cup game, I believe we had a few more people in the stadium than usual. Dunfermline received fantastic support, making it feel like a cup tie, and we could hear them as well. So it felt like the first game of the season wasn’t a letdown, but rather a legitimate contest. It seemed like a good game. In terms of expectations, we’ll aim for a little higher. But I think there has to be some feeling that the guys are only at 60-70 percent, and it will take them a wee while to get up to speed. And we’re still hoping that additions can help make us a wee bit more rounded for these types of games.

What does that first win of the season do for the squad, Derek, just in terms of getting that under your belt early on?

Yeah. Because the game was in the balance for a while, I believe that simply finding a means to win will make people feel good about themselves. We’ll be there tomorrow, and they’ll bounce right in. Some will be a little happier than others. There will be a few that we need to go around and pick up that have not been involved. It’s been rough on them because everyone has worked their tails off and has attempted to market themselves by putting their hand up and saying they’re here and have worked hard. Even leaving boys on the bench and out of the team today is quite tough on them. But such is the way, we can only pick 11 and we can only pick the subs that are allowed. So tomorrow’s a big day for making sure we look after all the boys and everybody’s got a part to play in the upcoming games.

Are you expecting more new faces this week?

Yes, however I’m not sure if we’ll be able to obtain visas and other necessary documents for the games. But we’re quite far along with a couple. We’ll attempt to fit two in regardless. I believe we are confident in our ability to complete them. It is simply a matter of whether we can make them available.

One boy is physically fit, whereas the other is not. He’s coming from a little behind in terms of pre-season, so it’d be great to get them involved in League Cup games if possible.

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