‘No mind games here’ | Gary Naysmith admits playoff place is ‘top fours to lose’ as Queen of the South lose ground

BY ALAN TEMPLE – @CCP_Sport

GARY NAYSMITH is adamant that he is not indulging in mind games when he claims that Queen of the South’s bid for a playoff place hanging by a thread.

The Dumfries outfit secured a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Dunfermline on Tuesday evening, with Joe Thomson’s fourth goal for the club cancelling out Michael Moffat’s opener.

While ordinarily a respectable point at East End Park, it does nothing to bolster Queens’ slim hopes of finishing in the top four.

And the former Hearts, Everton and Scotland star has admitted as much, insisting his side now require an almighty collapse from those above them.

Queens trail Morton in the final playoff place by seven points, with just nine games left to play.

“Realistically, and this isn’t mind games, it is the top four’s to throw away now,” said Naysmith. Those hopes took a bit of a blow losing (to Falkirk) on Saturday too.

“We can just keep putting points on the board and if we do that, see where it takes us.

“We obviously wanted three points but after Saturday’s defeat against Falkirk I think it was important we showed that was just one-off. We did. We had character, desire and it was much more like us.”

This weekend’s clash against Morton at Cappielow now becomes must-win for Naysmith’s side as they attempt to put pressure on the Greenock outfit.

“I would take the same performance again,” added Naysmith. “That aggression, determination and creating the same amount of chances.”