Faiss feel-good factor can fire up Pars

Ryan Williamson - “Hopefully we can get off to a flyer in the League Cup and carry that on to the league season.”

As the Dunfermline Athletic team prepares for the competitive start to its season at home to Peterhead, Ryan Williamson is hoping that the Betfred Cup will set the club up for a good season:-

“We had a good campaign in the Betfred Cup last year and we started the season flying, top of the league after September. There are going to be hard games coming up but we’ll focus on ourselves and we know we’ve got real quality that is looking to push on and do really well.

“We did really well in our last pre-season game against Motherwell, it was a tough test against a team that reached two cup finals last season. We stuck to it and got better as the game went on so that was a perfect final warm-up match.”

The Dunfermline squad has seen several changes since last season with only four of the players that played in the final match of last season at Tannadice started against Motherwell on Thursday night. Ryan claimed that he was really confident that it was all coming together for them:-

“It’s taking time to gel but seeing the boys in training - we know we’ve got real quality so we’re confident we can go and have a right good go at the league this year. That will be our aim, to go and win the league.

“We know the club deserves to be in the top league so we know we need to get off to a good start, that’s very important as that can get the confidence up. The rest should take care of itself.”

The arrival of Faissal El Bakhtaoui on a season long long loan from Dundee has given the squad a boost. Ryan played alongside Faiss the last time he was at Dunfermline and said:-

“I’m delighted he’s back. I sent him a message the other day and asked him what was happening but he gave nothing away. I said: ‘what is happening, are you coming back to join me?’ But he ignored the question although when I saw him I was delighted.

“I know how good he is, he’s a quality player and he’s loved here by everybody. He will be a massive signing for us and I’m sure he’ll come in and get us goals.

“Even for his build, he is quite a strong guy, he’s got an unbelievable first touch all round, he is a really good player he is good in the air for his height as well.

“He’s a big player coming in and he does so much more than scoring goals, he will be a massive asset for us in the Championship.

“You even see the reaction on social media to him being announced, straight away there was that feel-good factor. It’s a massive boost for us just before the games get underway. He did unbelievably well in the League One winning season, we were devastated to see him go at the time but it was a great opportunity for him. Hopefully he can do the same again and lead us to glory.”

Glory would be a Ladbrokes Championship title and Ryan reflected that was the aim last year as well:-

“The middle section killed us a bit. A lot of people are saying it’s the toughest looking Championship in years, teams like Dundee United and Ross County - they have all made good signings but we need to make sure we’re up there ourselves. Hopefully we can get off to a flyer in the League Cup and carry that on to the league season.”

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