Queen of the South boss Marvin Bartley believes his squad’s play-off fate is in their own hands after winning their third game in four.
Bartley was happy after Friday night’s 3-1 win over FC Edinburgh and still thinks there’s room for improvement. However, the four-game unbeaten streak is giving him plenty of reasons to be cheerful.
He said: “The boys are controlling their own destiny, they are speaking about things before the game and at half-time and it’s fantastic to hear because we’re all on the journey together and they are contributing both on and off the pitch.”
He added: “I’m never happy, as I always want more, but that is who I am, and the boys will tell you that.
“There are things that I am extremely proud of, there are things that we could do better and it’s about working on those things that can make them better and then I will find more things that they can do better.
“I’m never pleased but I am getting stuff out of them, and they are implementing more often than not.”
With three wins and a draw from their last four outings, Queens moved up to sixth in the table, but Bartley says they can’t get carried away.
He said: “It’s four unbeaten but what is important is the next game, the points we’ve picked up in recent games can’t be taken away, but we can’t rest there.
“It was 3-1 so it wasn’t perfect, 3-0 would have been perfect, I thought we started slowly but a few harsh words and tactical adjustments at half-time and the boys were brilliant in the second half and a joy to watch.
“That’s what they have in them, we were too impatient, but I couldn’t be prouder of them, it’s another game ticked off with a win.”
The Palmerston boss went on to add praise to the full squad which he says points to the squad mentality at Palmerston.
He said: “It is a squad game, it’s not just about the people who start, it’s also about the people who end the game, the substitutes came on and helped us, they gave us energy.
“That’s what you need to do as a sub, you can be angry at me but go and produce when you come on.”
The win on Friday was Queens’ fifth over the Edinburgh side this season and the 36-year-old thinks that means a lot.
“We had a game plan – the boys stuck to it and went on to win it comfortably.”
