Dumbarton boss Stevie Farrell says he 'won't lose sleep' over fan criticism

Dumbarton boss Stevie Farrell said he wouldn’t lose sleep over criticism from the Sons support, as Annan Athletic killed off his side’s promotion hopes.

A 6-0 first leg loss at Galabank last week followed by a 0-0 on Saturday saw the Sons’ hopes of an immediate return to League One end in disastrous fashion, with Farrell feeling the brunt of criticism from an angry section of supporters at The Rock.

However the boss praised his players and insisted his side are on the right track, despite a disappointing end to the season.

The defiant boss said: “My message to the fans is very simple.

“Fans are entitled to their opinions, and I don’t react to that.

“I don’t react to pats on the back and I don’t react to getting stabbed in the back.

“However I will say that, just as they are entitled to their opinion, I’m entitled to mine.

“And mine is that this club has had a great season.

“You’d think that was a manager walking off with his team in the bottom two of the league with the reaction.

“We have not been out of the top two since the first week of the season.

“We need to go one better. That’s all.

“There’s something bigger with Stevie Farrell at this club, and I’m not sure what that issue is.

“You’ll need to ask those in the stand.

“Even before the playoffs the negativity was there and it was towards myself.

“I have a clear message to the fans.

“I’m here and I’m going to build on this year, which has been a good one for the club.

“This isn’t the first time. After our record breaking start to the season we went to Stirling Albion, got beaten and I had the same reaction coming off the pitch.

“There’s something bigger going on.

“But I won’t lose one bit of sleep over it.

“You can be absolutely sure of that.”

Farrell admitted that