The Pars Need To Get The Finger Out

Dunfermline lost out to Dundee United in today's Irn-Bru Cup quarter final which was a disappointment for manager Alan Johnston who must have hoped that a win today would have provided a boost to his team's league form.  The Fife side are second bottom of the Championship with just nine points from 13 games.  Their stated ambition is to get out of the Championship and they may get their wish but perhaps not in an upward direction. Johnston is keen that his players look forward rather than back after today's game saying: "It is always a concern (when you lose) but we need to concentrate on the next games coming up, we need to start winning games, picking up points and putting a run together to get ourselves up the table.  It would have been a bonus getting to the next round (of the Irn-Bru Cup) but it wasn't to be.  Now we have to focus on the league."

The Pars only have St Mirren (four points) protecting them from bottom spot and will be keen to overtake Dumbarton (10 points) to give them some breathing space as they plan on how to make progress up the league. The bottom two sides meet in Paisley next Saturday (17:15 kick-off) which even this early in the season could be a very important fixture regarding relegation come the end of the season next year.