Manager respects opening cup competition

26/05/22: JMc - “We can promise that these games won’t be viewed as pre season friendlies or add ons to your pre season.

The League Cup competition, currently the Premier Sports Cup has been a success for Dunfermline over the last five seasons with the team qualifying out of the group stages each time. Qualification has earned the Pars plum ties against Hearts, Rangers (twice), Celtic and the eventual winners in St Johnstone.

The group stages during the last five campaigns have taken the team and the fans to some grounds that have not been recent league venues - Methil, Brechin, Edinburgh City, Dumbarton and Kilmarnock. Newly appointed manager James McPake shared the fans excitement when the draw for the group stages was made on Tuesday lunchtime. He told the website that the matches would be taken very seriously:-

“For me and all the fans it is always exciting when the draw is made. We can promise that these games won’t be viewed as pre season friendlies or add ons to your pre season. I know some clubs do that for various reasons but it is a national cup competition that we will treat with the utmost respect.”

The draw threw up a Fife derby against Stevie Crawford’s East Fife, the Highland League’s runners up Buckie Thistle, Brian Rice’s Alloa Athletic and Malky MacKay’s Ross County. The Staggies were the top seeded team in the draw and that was not missed by James McPake:-

“Ross County are the strongest team on paper in the group due to what Malky has done up there and the way they finished the season.

“We will look forward to where the fixtures are whether home or away and that gives our fans a bit of excitement. They are competitive games, games that we are taking very seriously.”

Alloa Athletic will also be opponents in League One and the Wasps have regularly stung the Pars. East Fife and Buckie Thistle will need little motivation when they come up against a team that played in the Championship last season. James commented:-

“They are always difficult games, there is no two ways about that and no matter who you are playing against that’s what we will be trying to stress. Lower league teams can cause you real problems. We need to be right, we need to be ready for the time these games come around.”

The dates and venues are still to be confirmed but the Pars boss closed with a strong message:-

“When they do we need to get this football club back to winning ways.”

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