Working hard on safety and signings

SC:- “It makes it harder but you don’t make excuses because every other club is facing the same situation, you just try and do your work to the best of your ability

With news confirming that current lockdown measures will stay in place across mainland Scotland until at least the middle of February, Stevie Crawford is hoping that football can lift the spirits of Pars fans near and far.

“We know that we are in a privileged situation where we can try and play games of football. We are all facing challenges and we will try and keep this virus at bay. The chairman and the administration side of the club are working on the different guidelines and protocols been put in place that we have to adhere to like we have been doing. If we can do that then hopefully we can put smiles on the faces of Dunfermline supporters.

“We just got CAT tested for the Ayr game today in regards to the weekend and fingers crossed that we all come through that with tests that are negative. As bad as it has been since the pandemic started, we just have to focus on following the guidelines.”

Although lockdown appears to be having an impact on case numbers, transmission of the virus remains too high to relax restrictions. Footballers have to try and limit being out in public, as everybody else is doing. Stevie continued:-

“We’re human beings, we’ve all got families, we’ve all got homes to go to. At some point, you’re going to come into contact (with the virus), you’ve got to go out and food shop, or whatever it is.

“It’s just trying to limit these situations. Touch wood, at the moment, we’ve managed to keep it at bay at the club. We can’t guarantee it, but what we can do is try to limit it and I think the boys have been fully focused on that and everyone that’s working at the club as well. Long may that continue.”

The sport was shaken on Friday night with a communication from the SFA seeking Championship clubs opinions on computing given the level of the virus in circulation. Stevie commented at the time and last night added:-

“I am sure that if anything can come of it the chairman would have made a point of touching base with me over the weekend. I haven’t heard anything and it just feels like a non event to me. There is nothing for us to get worried about.”

There are twelve days left of the January transfer window and the Dunfermline gaffer repeated his well used lines that if there was anything to come to fruition or any news to be broken then that is when he would be willing to comment. Steve felt that Covid is making signings more difficult:-

“It is an ongoing process trying to bring a player to a club. Usually agents get in touch with you or you maybe notice someone is not playing at a team and you get a chance to bring him into the club in a trial period. Maybe some boys are playing in foreign countries and at this time that is something that we can’t do because of the protocols.

“It makes it harder but you don’t make excuses because every other club is facing the same situation, you just try and do your work to the best of your ability to try and open as many doors as possible. If there is to be any work going to be done it has to be mindful that we are trying to progress the club.

“That’s the important thing for me. We do work on a number of things and most of the time it doesn’t come off but if we are going to add to the squad it has to be to strengthen us.

“I can’t guarantee that there will be additions - or an addition - between now and the end of the month because there are other parties that get involved in that but we are looking to try to do some work.”

A deal to bring Kyle Macdonald was secured last week and SC felt that demonstrated how things in football can happen very quickly.

“Although we had been monitoring Kyle Macdonald, a week ago now we were not in a position where we could say anything. Kyle will be a good addition to us, we are thankful to Airdrie for the way that the transfer has gone through.

“He is adaptable, he can play in either full back position and at times he has played in a midfield role as well. Like the other signings that we have made at the club, that is a massive positive for us.

“In terms of being front foot and having something I can say is going to happen in the next day or so, we’re not any closer to that.”

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