Looking in as a Craw

"I am sure everybody is realistic to see that after last season there is something there and the Manager is doing well to get boys in who are doing we

For Stevie Crawford it was 'weird' returning to East End Park as an East Fife player on Thursday night in the 2007-08 Fife Cup Semi Final. Stevie left in April 2008 after two, by his own description, less than successful seasons in his second spell at Dunfermline. He made 67 appearances during those two seasons, scoring 11 goals while not always being deployed as a striker.

Dunfermline Athletic has turned the corner now according to Stevie and he always looks for the club's results but he has pledged his allegiances to East Fife now and it is for them that he will be giving 100%.

"It does seem strange coming here and not wearing black and white. I still enjoy my football at East Fife but it's nice seeing Dunfermline up there challenging this year after a good pre season."

Stevie said that his feelings about leaving Dunfermline would remain within him and Jim McIntyre:-

"My second spell wasn't as successful from a goals point of view but anybody who has worked with me on the playing staff will realise how disappointed I was when the club got relegated. Then there was the frustration at the beginning of last season when we were well off the pace. That was hard to take but in football you move on.

"I tend to try and think of the good memories here, they are helped along when you see the club doing reasonably well at the moment. It is nice to hear because obviously being a Dunfermline boy you are listening to people and hearing what people are saying about the club. The results like against St Johnstone this year when the boys did really well and they are getting their rewards this season and I think that stems from a hard pre season."

Stevie was left out of Dunfermline's final game of last season but he explained that decision had been Jim McIntyre's but strongly flavoured by what had happened the previous afternoon:-

"After being told that there wasn't going to be a contract offer just before the Queen of the South game I felt that I would be playing a game that didn't really mean anything. Other people will look at me and say, 'yes, Stevie was quiet in games at times or whatever' but I just felt I wasn't being true to myself. It wasn't my choice, it was the Manager's. He knew the situation after telling me that."

There were certainly no hard feelings on Thursday night with Stevie spending so long talking to Macca and the back room staff that he was the last East Fife player to leave the stadium after the cup tie:-

"I said at the time that I wished him all the best. I have known him throughout my playing days and it is great to see him getting two great boys in Graham Bayne and Andy Kirk. Now for me looking in from the outside, it is great for the club after a couple of years when there has been something hanging over the club.

"It is positive and hopefully the results will keep coming and they can go on and win promotion this year to get up where they belong. It is still a hard league but if you are up there challenging I am sure everybody is realistic to see that after last season there is something there and the Manager is doing well to get boys in who are doing well for the club."

Paul Willis follows Stevie Crawford

Thursday night's match pitched in the 25 times capped striker against players half his age and some that he had come up through the youth programme while Stevie was with the Pars:-

"Greg Ross, Iain Williamson and Paul Willis who broke in last season. I got a chance to speak to them tonight. I have seen them as young boys and they have matured at difficult times. It is hard enough for an experienced player to go through what has happened in the last couple of seasons but these young boys have shown a lot of bottle sometimes.

"They have told me tonight that they have had a wee chance and been on the bench. I told them to work hard but it is a better atmosphere to get involved and challenging for something. Their aim is to play well in reserve games and games like tonight to put boys under pressure in the first team, it all augurs well for the club in the future."

East Fife now comes first and foremost for the Dunfermline born player who made a total of 259 appearances for the Pars, scoring 82 goals. Tipped by some to win this season's Division Two, the Methil outfit got off to a poor start taking only one point from their first three games. Stevie felt that the expectations were born out of a few of the additions to the squad having stepped down from playing in higher divisions and the manager being able to keep most of the team that won promotion at a canter the previous year.

"We have battled away after not getting results from our early season form but we have managed to get mid table at the moment and we hope to build on that throughout the season."

East Fife's third and winning goal

There was a well earned and satisfied smile when he talked about the outcome of the evening's cup tie:-

"It was nice to get the win tonight, that's the competitiveness in me as well. You don't go through the motions. I thought the young Dunfermline boys did well in the second half, taking confidence from getting the goal just before half time. They came at us and deservedly got back in the game but we were happy enough to get the goal at the end and hopefully that adds to our confidence to start climbing the league."