PICTURES: Buckie Thistle manager Graeme Stewart urges Victoria Park club to stick together in wake of shock Highland League defeat to Clachnacuddin
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Graeme Stewart says Buckie Thistle's Highland League title destiny is still in their own hands and is urging everyone at the Victoria Park club to stick together.
His words came after Saturday's shock 3-2 defeat to Clach in Jags' first match at Victoria Park in over three months, a result which sparked an angry reaction from some home fans.
Stewart said no-one was hurting more than himself after the stunning loss, but remains confident his team can get back on track and push for the title.
The Jags boss said a tiny minority of the Buckie faithful was "out of order" after firing personal criticism at some of his players after the match.
"The fans aren’t happy. After the game, there was maybe one of two who were out of order with some of the things they were saying," he said.
"They were having a go at certain players and I don’t like to see that. It’s not as if the players are not trying, they are trying their best and it was an off-day.
"The last thing we want to do is have fans, players or directors or whoever at the club starting to get a wee bit ahead of themselves and point the finger of blame.
"Everyone needs to take a chill pill, just relax and realise that everything is within our own hands and there’s a long way to go.
"We’ve got a top, top team. This is the best team I have ever managed, with lots of big characters and great players and if they do that, which they will because I’ve told them to and they are good lads, then they will come back even stronger.
"Now is not the time to start panicking or losing our composure."
Jags led through a Lyall Keir goal but found themselves trailing in the final ten minutes. Jack Murray's injury time penalty looked to have rescued at least a point for the home side until a Sam Morrison foul d led to a spot award at the other end and Clach's Connor Bunce fired home the winner.
Stewart admitted that some words were exchanged between himself and fans after the game, and he wants the Buckie support to take pride in their club and see that they have assembled a very strong team.
"One or two of the fans let themselves down and I don’t mind saying that. They were a bit out or order saying things that they shouldn’t be saying.
" They are allowed their opinion, that’s fine, but they were 100 per cent wrong in their point of view in my opinion.
"They maybe need to remember some of the things that have been happening over the last three years. I don’t care that we haven’t won the league and we haven’t won a trophy. We have been the most consistent and best team in the Highland League, that is a fact over the last three years.
"I think the fans have to support the team and the decisions that are made, and realise that we know what we are doing. They need to trust the management and the players, and raise that we are doing everything that we can.
"Nobody feels a defeat like Saturday’s more than myself and the players, trust me on that. Nobody over analyses it or thinks about it more than I do, and nobody tries to come up with reasons and solutions more than myself.
"It is a part-time job with full-time hours and 99.9 per cent of our fans are fantastic and understand what’s going on. I don’t blame the 0.1 per cent for having an opinion but maybe they need to remember things that have happened in the not-too-distant past that maybe means that they should support their team and be proud of their club.
"I wasn’t happy that they were highlighting players in their criticism. That is ridiculous and I don’t mind saying that, I have done this long enough.
"I spoke to some of them afterwards when they had calmed down and realised that they are not meant to have a go at people. I told them in no uncertain terms, 'don’t you be having a go at my team'.
"They put in so much effort to make Buckie a big club, strong and proud and I think everybody needs to appreciate them rather than try to knock them down.
"I’ve got no doubt we will come back with a vengence and put that result right, but we will do that with everyone sticking together and not getting sucked in by one result.
"It is quite basic to have a reaction like this after a bad result but it takes a bit of experience and maturity to realise that these things can happen, and we just need to put it right and we will do that."
