ALLAN JOHNSTON has admitted that his team’s home form hasn’t been good enough but says he doesn’t feel under any additional pressure.

Saturday’s late loss to Queen of the South left them with just one league win at East End from five games – scoring just twice in the process – and supporters voiced their frustration at full-time.

The Pars boss knows his side must improve on their own patch but, while he felt his team’s performance didn’t merit defeat, he says he can deal with criticism.

“I don’t feel under any additional pressure. People can shout and scream what they like; it doesn’t make any difference to me,” Johnston commented.

“I don’t mind getting criticism because sometimes it’s fair when you don’t win your home games so you’ve got to take it when it comes along but I wouldn’t say it would affect me.

“I definitely understand their frustration but if any of them think we didn’t dominate the game and deserved to win, then I don’t know what game they were watching. But what I will say is that it’s a results business and you’ve got to win games.

“In terms of performance, I thought the boys played well but you’re judged on results, and you need to win your home games. We’ve not scored enough goals at home and our record’s poor at home, especially compared to the away form, which shouldn’t be the case.

“Whether that’s maybe having to deal with a wee bit of pressure, and the expectation, it’s up to us to turn that around.”

When asked if more urgency and pace was needed to break through teams sitting in against them, Johnston continued: “When teams are sitting in, it’s impossible to get the game any quicker when teams are sitting in their own 18-yard box.

“If they’re higher up the pitch then you could play with a wee bit more pace but if you’re dictating the play and all the play’s in their half of the pitch, I don’t know how much more quicker you can play.

“If teams are sitting in their own half and defending, and you’ve got the ball and passing it, it’s hard to break them down and is like a training game, whereas if teams come and have a go, it’s more open and the game is a lot faster.

“But we should be able to break them down. I think we’ve got skilful players in the last third of the pitch but it’s just showing that wee bit of quality in the final third.

“The good thing about football is you’ve always got a chance to prove people wrong and get results. That’s what we’ve got to aim to do.”