Swift admits season end a huge let-down

The Warriors ended the campaign with a 0-0 stalemate at Station Park against Forfar Athletic on Saturday.

Looking back over that match, Swift said: “We dug in well at times, and it is always hard to show up like that when a game means little in terms of not being able to go up or down in the league table no matter the result.

“Ultimately, what I said to the players was that the nucleus of the squad started and that they should end the season on a positive note.

“They pressed really high and were much more aggressive than in other fixtures this year.

“I thought we did very well to beat that first press and Euan O’Reilly and Ross Forbes both dropped into pockets well and took in the ball with real bravery.

“Both sides had half-chances and Euan had a good one he could have scored later on. They had a couple of decent efforts too.

“A clean sheet and a point will do to end the season, and it showed me that the spirit is really strong in the dressing room.”

With a second summer transfer window at the club looming, Swift reckons this time around will be much simpler.

“It is like a full-time job, but this year it will be so much easier,” he said. “Last time around, it was a complete recruitment overall and the playing staff was a mess, but now we are in a great place with a core of key players here for next year.

“We’ll be looking to have 11 or 12 from this squad, with some new additions, and that, for me, would be a really dangerous side.”

Of this season as a whole, he added: “The truth is that this year has been a failure, and I said that to the players because with the quality they have, a top-four finish should have been sealed.

“I have to take that on board too, but it isn’t easy to bring in 20 new faces, and I think the fans realise that it is a process. The support gave us a real reception at the end and we want to reward them next year with what we wanted to do this year.”