ALLOA Athletic manager took time out of his hectic schedule to chat with Graeme Lafferty about the biggest issues facing the club in the second half of the season as they look to pull off another great escape at the foot of the SPFL Championship.

Reflections on your first month in charge:

JR: “I had a spell in charge at Dumbarton and my role at Hearts was quite wide ranging and I had a lot of responsibilities there so not much has change for me in that sense. From a personal point of view, I am enjoying being a part of this club and the response I have had from the players and staff has been terrific. I think they are probably as good a part time club as there is in terms of how the club is run and the people within it. That is a huge advantage to have on my side and hopefully we can now start getting the results that the whole club deserve. It has been a strange month in the sense that we only had two games and one of those I had only really met the players on the Thursday. So I am looking forward to this run of games coming up.”

On using the break to settle in:

JR: “I think the Falkirk result was a step in the right direction in terms of performance and that is certainly the feedback I have had from people who have seen a lot more of the club than me this season. It has been ideal to get some extra sessions with the players over this rest period for us. I think people sometimes think you can wave a magic wand in two sessions and make wholesale changes, but that is simply not the case. For me, it is more about building that relationship with my players and trying to get the best from them. I am big believer in working closely with players to get the best from them and so it is important to get the man-management side of it right. So the break has been good to allow me to get to know them a lot better in that sense.”

On making the defence more solid:

JR: “I am pleased we are looking defensively very sound now and I think especially in the Falkirk game that was evident. The addition of Scott McKenna is a bonus for us in that department because he was someone I knew of in advance having seen a lot of him in the U20s over the last few years. I also spoke in-depth to Derek McInnes about him and his opinion is one that I trust very much so when he gave him a glowing reference we were just thrilled to get him in. He is a big character and has settled into the dressing room well.”

On solving the attacking problems:

JR: “The big thing for me now is trying to fix things in the other half of the pitch. We need to be much more positive in the final third and my message to the players has been about being brave and prepared to take more risks in that area of the pitch. I would rather they hit a poor shot or maybe lose the ball trying a through pass rather than retaining the ball and coming back the way all the time. I think because of the position we are in now, we really have to go and win games. We are better off winning two and losing two out of four games rather than trying to draw four so we have to take more risks in games.”

On the addition of new players:

JR: “It would be nice to add some more options in the attacking areas because we are fairly restricted at the moment in terms of what we can do. We are trying very hard to make that happen at the moment, but it is not easy to do midway through the season. I don't want to just add someone for the sake of it. It will have to be someone who is likely to improve the group. We are limited to the number of loans we have left, but getting Michael Duffy and Robbie Crawford back means that they are still on the same loans and we don't have to use another one. If it is not a loan addition it would help me because it would then give me further options as well, but we will have to wait and see.

“The problem is clubs all want to wait until the last minute to make decisions on players going out on loan. Even with free agents they tend not to rush into things in January because they like to keep their options open for the entire month. That is not ideal for us given the predicament we are in, but that is just part of the challenge and I am happy to keep trying to get the best out of the players we have in the mean time.”

On the future of Isaac Layne:

JR: “Isaac Layne is back at the club for the moment after his loan spell at Brechin City. I haven't seen an awful lot of Isaac because he has only been training with us once a week while on loan, but I have spoken to a number of League One managers about him and they have all spoke highly of him. Every piece of feedback has been positive about him including Brechin boss Darren Dods who was delighted with him so he deserves to get his chance to try to replicate that form at our level as opposed to the league below. He is very much part of my plans at the moment and I have told him that this is a big opportunity for him and hopefully he can take it.”

On retain services of Robbie Crawford and Michael Duffy:

JR: “Robbie is a real pleasure to work with because his attitude is top class, he is incredibly fit and is technically very good on the ball. We are delighted to keep him in the squad and I think there is much more to come from him. I am far from disappointed with him, I have been pleased with him, but I believe he can produce even more for us and hopefully that faith that I have in him can give him the belief to do that. Keeping Michael Duffy is a massive boost to the squad because I genuinely believe he will score goals for us between now and the end of the season. He is a real asset for us and he can hurt teams in a number of ways so he maybe just needs to show a little more belief and that is something I tell him all the time. If he keeps doing what he's doing then the goals will come.I have a lot of respect for both lads because it has been a difficult season for everyone at the club so far and they both had an opportunity to bail out on us. Other players might have taken that, but it is testament to Michael and Robbie that they want to stick around and help us turn this around.”

On the Morton game:

JR: “The Morton game is another example from a run of games coming up that we can go and be competitive in. We are going into another crucial home match and we simply need to start taking that advantage and picking up points. We have to give the supporters some reward for sticking by the team and to keep them with us as we try to turn our season around. It is a huge game in that respect and hopefully the players start to get the rewards for their efforts at home.”

On the addition of coach Lee Sharp:

JR: “I have taken my time to assess how things work at the club before I made any staffing changes and I just felt that we needed an extra pair of hands to help out because I like to work in very small groups and it is therefore quite a lot for just Paddy and I to do. So we are delighted to get Lee into the club to help out. He is someone who I have known for a number of years and his coaching credentials. He was a top professional as a player and he has a lot of qualities to bring to the table.

On Michael Doyle's future:

JR: “I only found out recently that Michael had only signed a six month deal with the club so I moved quite quickly to tie him out when I found out. He has been first class for me both in games and in training since I have arrived at the club. I offered him a deal until the end of the season, but the player has an ambition to try and pursue full time football and that is something that I don't have any issues with. Naturally we were all disappointed and from our point of view we must now look to cover that spot because we cannot afford to wait around for him so he may find himself in the situation where his window with us is closed as well. It is a situation that you cannot predict how it will unfold over the next few weeks, but at the moment I have to plan for life without him.”