Stevie Crawford Manager of the Month

08/12/20: Stevie does it again! SPFL Championship Manager of the Month for November goes to the Manager of the Month for October.

November’s SPFL Manager of the Month award for the Scottish Championship was presented to Dunfermline manager Stevie Crawford today.

The Dunfermline boss was pleased to see the adherent positive attention that comes to the club. Again he immediately turned the attention on his midfielder Kyle Turner who was presented with the SPFL Player of the Month award for the Scottish Championship. He told the media:-

“I am delighted, as I was for Euan Murray last month, that Kyle has picked up Player of the Month. I don’t think Kyle managed to get any when he was at Stranraer, it is an experience he will enjoy.

“To think that Kyle came in here to first full time in pre season just 18 months ago now, it is great to see him kicking on and there is development in him. He has grown into a full time football player now. He deserves the recognition because he was terrific last month in his performances for us that helped us get to the position that we find ourselves in at this moment.”

Stevie agreed that the obvious performance that sticks out was that against Hearts since they are favourites to win the league but chose to turn the spotlight on Kyle’s contribution as a second half substitute in the Betfred Cup game against Clyde:-

“I think he deserves as much credit for the way he went about his business that day and it shows the spirit that we are trying to create at this club. He came on and had an impact. Sometimes when boys don’t start they are sitting sulking on the bench but he came on with a point to prove. He helped us that day to go on and win a game from finding ourselves 2-0 down.”

With eight starts and three appearances off the bench, Kyle has featured in every one of the Pars games this season. The 23 year old perfectly fits the remit as agreed between the Chairman and Stevie Crawford about his role at East End Park.

“If you look back at my coaching career, I have enjoyed creating that environment at clubs albeit in different roles. When I was player / manager at East Fife and then going on to work at Falkirk and at Hearts, I enjoyed working with young players. It is maybe unfair to say ‘young players’ because you are never too young to learn.

“I just enjoy an environment where you can give players hidden gems to help them become a more complete player. Kyle very much fits that mould, there are other players in the squad who we could equally say the same of.

“We are continually working to see if there are of these types of characters in players out there. That is the excitement of being in the role and also the environment that the Chairman and the board have created at this football club at the moment.”

While the SPFL awards and the subsequent attention are good they somewhat blow out the water the club’s continual attempts to quietly fly under the radar in their promotion bid. Stevie explained:-

“It is a balance but the one thing that I’d like to be thankful of that maybe didn’t come across that well last month, the award to me is also as I see it, is a reward to the coaching staff. I know the efforts that they put into it, the work that goes unseen by the guys - Greg (Shields), Jason (Dair), Whitts, Owain (Fôn Williams), Jamie (Sutton) and Gary (McColl).

“It is a collective effort and I will go back to the Clyde game. People think that the Hearts one was the obvious one but in the Clyde game Steven Whittaker was on the bench that day. We were not playing him but he came into discussions about how we might change the team, change the shape to get a goal back.

“There are heated discussions at time but a lot of thought goes into it. I have said it before, if you surround yourself with good people it gives you the opportunity to make the right decision. As I said they very much have an influence on how I go about my business, so great credit to a coaching staff that has fully got on my back. They help me when I need them.”

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