Ayr boss Hopkin sees enough to feel optimistic
David Hopkin is adamant Ayr United will be in no danger of the drop providing they show the same“commitment, desire and enthusiasm” they displayed at Tynecastle.
Hopkin was in the dugout for the first time as Honest Men boss and saw his side manfully frustrate Hearts for 72 minutes.
However, one delightful delivery from Andy Irving was enough to undo all of that good work, allowing Armand G nan du ill et to head home the opener. Jamie Walker then made the game safe in the dying embers.
Yet, Hopkin was far from downbeat after watching Ayr take the champions- elect all the way.
“We knew it would be tough but we tried to set up to be difficult to play against,” said Hopkin. “For 75 minutes, we were doing fine then it’s a bit of quality from a free- kick and we were 1-0 down.
“But credit to th e players, because it’s been a tough week. It has been tough run – Morton away, Raith away, Hearts away, then we have Dundee away on Tuesday – but I’m delighted with the attributes on show.
“We were excellent, even the flair players were prepared to work hard.
“If I se e that commitment, desire and enthusiasm, we won’t be far away. And if we’d seen that ( Irving) free- kick out, I think we’d have left with a point.”
He added: “I feel like I’ve got a lot to work with when I go in on Monday morning to reset for Tuesday night’s (Dundee) game.”
Hopkin reserved special praise for “incredible”Vilja mi Sinisalo, the teenage goalkeeper on loan from Aston Villa, who made a string of stunning saves to repeatedly thwart the Jambos.
Andy Halliday and Gnanduillet, in particular, were left to rue the form of the youngster.
The 19- year- old has been a consistent bright spark for Ayr United this term, making 22 appearances and belying his inexperience with a host of mature displays.
And Hopkin firmly believes there is more to come from the Finland under-21 internationalist, being enthused by the prospect of ironing out some of his rough edges to ensure he reaches his potential.
“I thought he (Sinisalo) was excellent,” lauded Hopkin. “He’s a young goalkeeper and the longer we work with him, the more he understands what I want from him, the better he will get.
“I thought some of the saves he made were incredible.
“There are one or two things he needs to clean up on – but he is a young goalkeeper with a very bright future.”