THE FEAR of affecting careers, coupled with the positivity of returning boss Allan Johnston, was the catalyst to Queens’ continued presence in the Championship.

Midfielder Kyle Jacobs knew that jobs would be lost across the board if the Dumfries side plunged into League One,

And now that they have safely survived the dreaded play-offs, he insists they should never be in that position again.

Jacobs said: “We were obviously thinking about what it would mean if relegation happened because if Queens went down it would be financially difficult.

“It was tough losing Gary Naysmith like we did but the new manager came in and it was just about knuckling down, working hard and playing attacking football.

“I think we showed that over the four games as we scored nine goals and didn’t concede any in our two home games.

“He wanted us to attack more because we have the firepower and just needed to use it.

“We had missed Stephen Dobbie when he was injured but he came back firing and we also have Lyndon Dykes, Josh Todd and Connor Murray.

“So it was all about getting them on the ball as quickly as possible and letting them do the business.

“It’s obviously not nice being in the play-offs but we knew what we had to do and thankfully we came through. We must make sure we’re not there again.”

The irony is that Jacobs felt Queens were heading for Premiership play-offs – especially after they thumped Ross County 4-0 back in January to move into the top four.

Incredibly, they only managed to accumulate eight more points from 45 in 15 matches

He said: “It’s been one of the strangest seasons I have been involved in.

“There was a stage in the early part of the year where we thought we are going to be in the play-offs at the other end of the table.

“We were doing well and I thought we would really kick on.

“However, after losing to Aberdeen in the Cup we took a tumble and lost a lot of games in a row which killed us really.

“Even then there were a few teams that could have finished in the relegation play-off place which shows how tough this league is.

“It was just unfortunate it was us.

“We really missed Dobbie’s goals when he was out injured and we also conceded too many.

“So that was a bad combination and we ended up where we were because we probably deserved it.”

Other than an early flurry, there was little chance of Rovers upsetting Queens and the Fifers will have to regroup for a third campaign in the third tier.

Jacobs – like everyone else in the Queens squad apart from Dobbie – is wondering if he has a future at Palmerston.

Everyone is out of contract, apart from the talisman, but he is surely a player Johnston wants to keep.

He added: “The manager is going to speak with all of us in the next few weeks and we will see what happens from there.

“I will have to speak to him and see what he is saying and see if wants me.”