Jim McInally and Davie Nicholls have had to deal with the drawbacks of youth during this inconsistent season at Peterhead.
The Blue Toon management team have had to adapt and change the way they deal with having a younger squad. They have not had as experienced a team as years past and criticism cannot be so easily doled out.
“Football is becoming that way inclined,” said Nicholls. “You need to know your players and what does and doesn’t work for them.
“Sometimes with the youth, they are going to make mistakes, but you need to stick with it. It’s the only way they’re going to learn from their mistakes and get experience.
“As long as they’re learning, that’s the most important thing. Nobody goes out there trying to make mistakes.”
One facet of their management they will not change, though, is the honest approach they carry.
McInally and Nicholls have enough experience to draw upon from their own playing and coaching careers to know that being economical with the truth never goes down well within a squad.
“We try and do things honestly and it’s something myself and Jim pride ourselves on,” added Nicholls. “We’re upfront with people and, if an inexperienced player isn’t going to play on Saturday and was maybe expecting to, we’ll take him aside and have a chat with him.
“For instance, Jack Brown scored against Falkirk, but we changed it last week. Jim gave him his place and said in front of the players: ‘you’ve done great, but I’m going to change the system a wee bit for a bit more experience’.
“The wee man took it on board and accepted that. That’s really good when you see that from a player and it shows a real level of trust in the decision the manager is taking.
“I think honesty is key to any walk of life. It’s probably happened in my career and Jim’s career where we’ve walked away and hear you’ve been dropped through the grapevine, rather than the manager coming and saying it to you face-to-face.
“That’s one thing we always try to do, to be fair to the players, and I think they appreciate that. It’s been a real learning curve for them this year, but we’ve been really pleased with their attitudes and commitment.”
Peterhead have picked up back-to-back wins against Clyde and Falkirk to boost their League One survival hopes considerably. The weeks of good performances going unrewarded seem to be at an end.
The return of experienced midfielder Simon Ferry, whose season has been dogged by injury issues, in the last two games has certainly helped.
“What the players are doing is getting their rewards for continuing to take the ball and being brave. In a lot of the games, they’ve been quite unlucky,” added Nicholls.
“Hard work is the only way you’re going to get rewards. Everyone to a man is working really hard. The last two games they’ve been excellent, not just in getting the results, but their overall performances.
“We keep saying to them they should be really confident, the way they are playing. They are a young team, but Simon coming in there allows boys to go forward, knowing he’s in there behind them.”
The Blue Toon face Dumbarton today knowing a win would put them seven points clear of the relegation play-off spot. While not guaranteeing their League One place, it would go a long way towards doing so.
“In the players’ heads, they’ll know how important it is,” said Nicholls. “We’re looking for the guys to continue on the same path they’ve done for every game.
“If they continue to do that, they’ll be fine. We don’t want them to go into their shells – we’ll encourage them to keep taking the ball and they’ll get their rewards.”
Andy McDonald (calf) is a doubt for the game.
Peterhead: Rico Quitongo looking up the League One table, rather than down
