What was your reaction to that game?

The first half was quite tough. They were playing well there was a lot of duels. It was not easy for us to build-up and find solutions when we were on the ball. People weren’t passing forward like we normally do. Second half was a different game with a better tempo, we stretched the pitch, passed better and played forward when we could. We were waiting for the goal to give us the three points we need.

How do you make sense of the recent results?

We played lots of good games recently where we created chances but had one point. Against St Johnstone, it was hard to play on a difficult pitch. We had to get the three points and we did. Today, we were, especially in the first half, not our normal selves. In the second half, I saw a team again who were dominating and won this game with a vital goal from Kemar. It cost us a lot of energy, the players that came in gave us energy and stamina. It was waiting for the goal and I was really happy that we could score the winning goal.

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How important will Roofe be during the run-in?

Very. He’s been struggling with some injuries and is still working hard on the training ground to be ready. I gave him a compliment in the locker room because it’s not easy, especially for the players who haven’t played a lot in recent weeks. I said before you keep training hard and wait for your chance and today his chance came and he made the difference. I’m really pleased for him, not only him, but because he represents the players who haven’t played a lot. But in the coming weeks, we have a lot of games so we have to use everyone.

What was the thinking behind Lundstram not starting?

I think we needed fresh legs. The return of Ryan Jack made it easier to give John and Scott Arfield a rest - we have to use all our players. John is a very important player for this team.

Why do you think your team struggled to create?

I think we changed the system to give Tavernier more freedom to attack, bringing Sakala more inside. You could see the energy Aberdeen brought, their levels dropped in the second half and we got a little bit stronger. Sometimes you have to invest in the first half to make the difference in the second. We didn’t have many clear chances in the first half, I said to the players a game lasts 90 minutes and if you win in extra time you win the game.