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CHRIS JOHNSTON is confident a clear-the-air squad meeting has Raith Rovers back on the right track.
The Stark’s Park men were savaged by new manager John Hughes in the wake of their recent 4-0 hammering from Dumbarton.
But they responded to the criticism by carving out a richly-deserved 2-1 win over promotion chasing Dundee United last weekend.
The Kirkcaldy men remain in a relegation dogfight that now involves the bottom five clubs.
But Johnston believes the players’ self-analysis sparked by Hughes’ blast can help them ease their worries against Queen of the South.
The former Kilmarnock youngster said: “When you are going through a bad spell, people maybe question things.
“We just knew the Dumbarton result wasn’t acceptable.
“Afterwards we all sat down and got it out there. We addressed a few things, with a few of the boys just saying we needed to be more consistent.
“We thought we had turned the corner against St Mirren and then we had the Dumbarton game. We were right back into that rut so we knew we had to put it right.
ATTITUDE
“We know we tend to perform against the so-called better teams in the league but we now need to go into every game with the same attitude.”
Johnston’s performance against United earned him a place in the SPFL team of the week and the 22-year-old is enjoying life in a more central role under Hughes.
He added: “The manager played me in ‘the hole’ against St Mirren and I really enjoyed it.
“He obviously likes me in there and I like it as well as you are involved a lot. When you are out wide you can drift in and out of games.
“When a new gaffer comes in, you just want to try to impress.
“He has told me what he wants from me and the way he wants me to play, which I think suits me as well.”
