Allan Johnston was left wondering what could have been after his Queen of the South side slipped to a 3-2 defeat at East End Park.
The former Hearts, Sunderland and Kilmarnock man returned to the dugout for the first time since his enforced absence. Johnston and his staff were in a period of mandatory self-isolation with the manger upset he couldn’t take charge of the team despite testing negative.
Speaking on the issue, Johnston said: “It’s frustrating to be honest, especially when you test negative. We probably got punished as a club because we were testing in the first place.
“It’s tough trying to watch the games live through a stream but where I stay is not a great internet reception either. So it’s very frustrating when you are trying to watch the game and it’s stopping and starting every two minutes. It’s good to be back but obviously it’s not good to lose games. We need to get back to winning ways.
Johnston was critical of his side’s defence after the game, saying: “It would drive you crazy when you look at the goals we’ve lost. Obviously three goals from corners. One is a penalty, but it ultimately came from a corner.
“I don’t think their keeper has had many shots to save and we’ve gave away three really poor goals because it’s not like they’ve had to work hard for them.
“The first one especially. It’s been headed in from my height. It’s not as if it’s way up high or it’s a great leap, it’s just not getting close enough to people at corners. You don’t give yourself a chance in a game if you concede goals like that.
“Credit to the boys, they kept on going and they probably could have got something from the game. But we are giving ourselves a mountain to climb every game.”