Manager on Thursday

25/04/19: SC - “Our destiny is in our own hands and three points would be massive at the weekend now.

Above: - Stevie Crawford with his sponsors

Going into Saturday’s home match against Morton manager Stevie Crawford is demanding energy from his side:-

“I know when you are not winning games that it sounds simple but sometimes that’s the bit that doesn’t seem to come to fruition and we really need to get back to the basics. I’ve been listening to a lot of people speak about football in the last week or so and it’s not just at our level.

“Listening to the experts and pundits on Sky, the basics are you work hard and are disciplined and if you can look at yourself in the mirror after the game, that gives you a platform to win a game of football. It doesn’t guarantee you winning it but that is the one thing that we have got to do.

Above: - Stevie Crawford with his sponsors

“I get the feeling, having spoke to the boys on Monday, that hangover of possibly missing out on the play-offs, we now realise we’re looking over our shoulder and they feel they’ve got a point to prove. Whoever the starting eleven are on Saturday and the subs that come on, we have to make sure we have an impact on the game on that allows the supporters to get behind us because they’ll be important to us.”

Stevie took inspiration from listening to the pundits on Sunday on and Wednesday night.:-

“I listened to Graeme Souness, Roy Keane and Gary Neville talking about the Manchester derby but they were also looking at Manchester United against Everton last weekend.

“You can only ask a group of players to give it their best shot, if you do that and don’t succeed, you can go home and people can then have a go at you for your quality. But collectively, you give it your lot, we’ve found ourselves in a position we don’t want to be in but it’s in our own hands and I’m sure the teams below us would rather be where we are.

“It’s trimming it back to the basics, which are: get on the ball, want the ball, pass it to a team-mate, go and be energetic, cause the other team problems and when you lose the ball, make it hard for the other team to make passes and stop crosses into our own box.”

Stevie knows that Dunfermline fans will get behind you “all day long” if you try your best and feels that his team will need to match Morton’s energy and give more:-

“From the disappointment after the Queens game and the edge that I’ve seen the boys play with at training this week, hopefully we’ll see that come to fruition on Saturday and Morton will know they’re in for a game of football.”

Asked how much of a concern is it to see the five teams below Dunfermline picking up points, SC replied:-

“I said when I came in that we focus on the team above us, we’ve got two games but I don’t even want to focus on the Inverness game. This weekend we have got to put all our energy and work into the Morton game. I don’t want boys shying from it and if it means making mistakes, make them in an honest way.

“If they’ve given their absolute lot, the fans will accept that. I’m not saying they’ll accept getting beat and we don’t want to accept that culture here but give your lot and it gives you a better chance of winning games every week.

“There can’t be a fear, they only become frightened if that’s the culture we’re going to put to them. If they’re frightened to take the ball, how are you going to score goals? Collectively we have come off it a little bit, we are in a position where our destiny is in our own hands and three points would be massive at the weekend now.”

On Tuesday and Thursday training has taken place on the East End Park surface and Stevie knows that they don’t want to be doing too much damage to that but it is hoped that will give his side an edge come Saturday. On the availability front Stevie said:-

“We have Danny Devine back involved. It will be a late decision on James Vincent. Tom Beadling will be out but Andy Ryan and Lewis Martin have had a full week under them and with them being longer term injuries, it is great for them personally because it has been a hard season for them.”

Returning to the match SC said that although he would be respectful of Morton, but it is about us.

“I am not being arrogant, I am more concerned about seeing an energy and appetite to show that as a minimum we finish fifth in this league.

“We don’t want anyone taking fifth place away from us. We could focus on Morton and do too much on Morton. At the back of our mind has to be on Saturday - we can’t change what has happened taking one point from six. For every minute of the game that has to be our motivation.”

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