Johnston vows Queens will not sit back

Queen of the South manager Allan Johnston will not send his side out to retain their Championship place at the expense of play- off rivals Raith Rovers with a “what we have, we hold” mentality.

The Doonhamers lead 3- 1 from Wednesday night’s win in Kirkcaldy and Johnston is keen to add to that advantage as opposed to holding on to it. He said: “I was delighted with the win as Stark’s Park is a tough place to go.

“In the semi- final first leg we lost to Montrose, so we knew last Saturday that we had to come out and beat them. That is not the case in this game, but we are not going to sit back. We are not that kind of a team; we will have a go and look to score goals.”

Johnston also reckons his players will shrug off any nerves generated by David Mckay’s late goal for Raith that cut their advantage.

He added: “It was disappointing to lose that goal but if I had been offered 3- 1 before kick- off, I would have taken it.”

Raith boss John Mcglynn believes that, despite Tottenham Hotspur’s recent comeback in the Champions League in Amsterdam, the first goal this afternoon will be crucial.

Mcglynn said: “We were unlucky to lose 3- 1 the other night. Now we are going to Palmerston aiming to score the next goal and see how they react. They did not react well to us scoring on Wednesday. It would be great to get that next goal and see what happens.

“The first goal is usually key, but that wasn’t the case for Tottenham. What that did show is that comebacks happen.”