Marvin Bartley was proud of his Queen of the South side after their SPFL Trust Trophy semi-final defeat to Hamilton Accies.
The plucky Doonhamers were beaten in extra-time by the Championship side on Tuesday night.
Afterwards Bartley said: “Nobody wants to lose games of football but my players gave it absolutely everything.
“That’s one thing I’ve demanded since coming to the football club. In training and in matches you give me everything and that’s happened.
“We’ve lost to a team that’s in really good form and we can walk out of here with our chest pushed out and heads held high. You don’t want to lose games of football but sometimes you have to accept that it’s going to be part and parcel of it.”
The rookie boss described the performance levels as the “minimum” going forward between now and the end of the season. He also recognised the efforts of players like Gavin Reilly and Ciaran McKenna coming on on Tuesday night who have been told they can move on from the club.
He said: “It’s easy for me to put demands on the players – the difficult bit is going out there and doing it. I’ve got players in the dressing room with cramp, ice packs on and everything because they’ve given everything and left it all out on the pitch and I’m proud of every single one of them.
“A couple of boys have had to come on that have been told they can go on loan and they’ve given everything and that’s the spirit and culture we have at this football club.”
A positive for Queens was the youth in their side on Tuesday night with two 21-year-olds making an impact. Ross Irving scored and Ryan Muir got his first start while 17-year-old Lewis Gibson played through the pain barrier.
Bartley said: “Lewis – what a fantastic young man. He had a slight calf knock and I spoke to him on the day of the game and he said he was at about 80 to 85 per cent fit.
“He told me he could play the whole game and that epitomises what we’re trying to do here at the football club. It’s an honest group of players that give you absolutely everything but that honesty is key. They trust me and I trust them.
“Ryan Muir comes in and makes his first start for the club and I make promises to players if you give me everything in training regardless of your age you’ll get opportunities and that happened today.
“Ross was brilliant. He gives you everything at training.
“He gets a bit emotional at times and if we can channel that into positive energy then I’m all for it.”
