Dumbarton boss Stevie Farrell said he wouldn’t lose sleep over criticism from the Sons support, as Annan Athletic killed off his side’s promotion hopes.
A 6-0 first leg loss at Galabank last week followed by a 0-0 on Saturday saw the Sons’ hopes of an immediate return to League One end in disastrous fashion, with Farrell feeling the brunt of criticism from an angry section of supporters at The Rock.
However the boss praised his players and insisted his side are on the right track, despite a disappointing end to the season.
The defiant boss said: “My message to the fans is very simple.
“Fans are entitled to their opinions, and I don’t react to that.
“I don’t react to pats on the back and I don’t react to getting stabbed in the back.
“However I will say that, just as they are entitled to their opinion, I’m entitled to mine.
“And mine is that this club has had a great season.
“You’d think that was a manager walking off with his team in the bottom two of the league with the reaction.
“We have not been out of the top two since the first week of the season.
“We need to go one better. That’s all.
“There’s something bigger with Stevie Farrell at this club, and I’m not sure what that issue is.
“You’ll need to ask those in the stand.
“Even before the playoffs the negativity was there and it was towards myself.
“I have a clear message to the fans.
“I’m here and I’m going to build on this year, which has been a good one for the club.
“This isn’t the first time. After our record breaking start to the season we went to Stirling Albion, got beaten and I had the same reaction coming off the pitch.
“There’s something bigger going on.
“But I won’t lose one bit of sleep over it.
“You can be absolutely sure of that.”
Farrell admitted that the crushing 6-0 loss in the playoff first leg left Sons needing a miracle, but believes his side restored some pride in front of their own fans.
The boss added: “Everybody knows it would’ve taken one of the biggest miracles in football to overturn a 6-0 deficit.
“We lost the tie on Tuesday night.
“In the 34 years I’ve been involved in football I’ve never been involved in a game like Tuesday night.
“There was no spark whatsoever.
“We took our medicine on Tuesday and looked to regain a bit of pride on Saturday. And I think we managed that.”
Carswell heads list of departures
Stuart Carswell is set to leave Dumbarton after more than 220 appearances for the club.
The Sons squad met with boss Stevie Farrell on Monday where their future plans were discussed, with former captain Carswell topping the list of players moving on.
Originally signed from Keflavik in Iceland in January 2017, Carswell was a key player across seven seasons with the club - winning the Sons’ Player of the Year award in 2018/19.
In total he made 224 appearances during his time at Castle Road, placing him inside the top 30 of all time appearance holders.
Versatile forward Ally Love had already revealed that he will move on having made 39 appearances scoring five times, with striker Russell McLean, midfielder Joe McKee and defenders Edin Lynch and Martin McNiff following.
Earlier this year boss Farrell revealed that club captain Ryan McGeever - who is currently on loan at League One Clyde - will leave in the summer to take a job overseas.
Team captain Gregor Buchanan, winger Kalvin Orsi and teenagers Harry Broun and Luca Vata have all been offered new deals.
And gaffer Farrell however has agreed pre-contracts with two players, with the Lennox understanding that this could include Carlo Pignatiello - who was named the club’s Young Player of the Year in the 2021/22 campaign.
Pignatiello - at the time on loan from Livingston - was released by Morton last week as he pursues a career outside of football, with Farrell keen on bringing the versatile 23-year-old back to G82.
