SPFL Championship Player of the month for November - Kyle Turner

“You always strive to get awards and do well. That is what I want to do and do well for the team. It is nice, obviously I had a good month.

The SPFL Championship Player of the Month for November is Kyle Turner. The 23 year old midfielder has featured in every Dunfermline match this season and has played a major part in seeing his team through to the quarter final of the Betfred Cup, ending the month at the top of the Championship and still unbeaten.

Following the lines so often used by players receiving awards, Kyle agreed that it was always nice to pick up an award but claimed that it is about the team and how good they have performed again in the month of November. He commented on what was his first ever award:-

“You always strive to get awards and do well. That is what I want to do and do well for the team. It is nice, obviously I had a good month. I thought I did well in the Hearts game and we just kicked on from there. At Arbroath we had a good win in the cup and we took a point from Raith on Saturday when I didn’t think that we were at our best. It’s the sign of a team that is in form and never know when you are beat.

“We went 2-0 down and the goals we conceded were poor from our point of view. We knew that we would always get a chance and when we got a chance we had to take it. Thankfully we did.

“We scored two in a minute and after that I thought we could maybe go on and steal it and win the game. It wasn’t to be but we will take a point. At the end of the day that point could be the difference between play offs or challenging at the top of the league.”

Kyle was signed in May 2019 after four successful seasons at Stranraer where he made 139 appearances. In his first season at Dunfermline, curtailed of course due to Covid-19, he played in 33 games. Giving up his part time greenskeeper job, last season was Kyle’s first as a full time professional. He described the experience:-

“I had to get to grips with the league and all the teams that are in it. It is a tough league to be in, every week has a different challenge and there is never an easy game in this league.

“Last year some weeks I would score a goal and play well but then be a wee bit inconsistent. This year consistency is the key to getting better. I feel that I have been more consistent.”

Kyle felt that the win over Hearts provided a major boost to the team:-

“We know what we have got in the changing room, we have good players in the team and we didn’t have any fear in going out to play Hearts. We just set up with the game plan that we had, we carried it out and thankfully it worked.

“They have good players and players who have played at the top level but we just thought ‘let’s have a go at this’ because they are favourites for the league ‘let’s see if we can knock them off the top for a bit’ and it worked.

“We have gone eleven games unbeaten, it is a great run and we just need to keep it going. We know that Morton on Saturday is never an easy game. We know that they are going to come here and it is going to be tough. We just need to try and get three points again.”

Kyle’s father Tommy Turner is well known to Scottish football fans of his era recalling his near 500 league appearances for St Johnstone, Partick Thistle, St Mirren, Gretna and 194 games for the Pars next opponents, Morton. Tommy has understandably been a big influence on his son’s football development but so far they have not discussed this Saturday’s match, Kyle:-

“He knows what it is like, he has played down there. Morton are always been a tough team to play against no matter if it is at Cappielow or on your home ground. You know what you get with Morton every week.

“I don’t really speak as much about football with him now. Obviously he cannot attend at the moment but when he comes to watch he gives me his input on the game and what I could do better, tells me what I am doing well. It is good, he tells me how it is.”

After scoring five goals in his first dozen appearances for Dunfermline Kyle has hit a goals drought and he is keen to get his account off the mark this season. He claimed:-

“I am trying. I had a shot on Saturday that I thought was in but it hit an opponent and went over the bar. It is something I have been trying to do and add to my game. This season I have not scored any yet but I am hoping that will come in the next few weeks.”

Paul Watson claimed the winner against Clyde when to many it looked as though Kyle’s free kick found the net on its own accord. He was only pleased that it won the match:-

“I claimed it as my goal but obviously it went down as Watson’s goal. When we saw it after the game it was blatantly my goal. He took it but I am just happy that we came back that day to win 3-2.

“It is good that everyone is chipping in with goals and Declan and Fraser Murray off the bench on Saturday. Watson, Euan Murray has chipped in with seven but it is good that there are goals from all over the team. It always helps and it takes a bit of pressure off the strikers as well, we are not just relying on them.

“Every week we create chances, we are always threatening and trying to attack. We feel that we are going to get chances every week, so it is just about taking those chances.

“Fraser Murray had a good strike and it was great play from Ryan Dow to set up Declan. We know that we have got that in there so it is just bringing that every week to the front.”

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