Skipper ready to stop the talking
Saturday, 1st May 2021Euan Murray: - “There is no point in talking about it, we need to go and do it.”
After missing the two home wins over Queen of the South and Arbroath, Dunfermline captain Euan Murray was pleased to be back in the team on Friday night. He claimed that the injury in his ankle and calf area was nothing serious:-
“It was a couple of frustrating weeks for me after picking up a niggle. It was of those that you just couldn’t risk, I was close to shaking it off last week but just never quite made it. I was pleased to get back out there and get sixty minutes into my legs.”
The influential centre back has timed his comeback perfectly to play his part in the Premiership Quarter Final play offs.
“We found out on Friday night that we would be playing Raith on Tuesday but it was important to go into the game and show Alloa the respect that they were due. They are a good team and we were disappointed that we didn’t pick up the three points but ultimately over the piece, I think it was a decent footballing game. The two teams played well but we will rest up now and look forward to Tuesday.”
This next Fife Derby is the most important since Martin Hardie’s day ten years back to defeat Raith 2-1 at East End Park en route to winning the Scottish First Division championship in 2010-2011. Tuesday’s opponents were determined after a Dundee win in Dumfries and a Hearts win at Stark’s Park in the final league matches. Euan did not show any thoughts of a preference and indeed to progress Dunfermline will have to defeat them both:-
“To be honest it didn’t matter to us whether it was Dundee or Raith, it was always going to be two big games for us. I think we have been on a decent run. The five unbeaten run ended at Alloa but in terms of performance levels, we were still decent. We will take the form we have had over the last five or six games and hopefully put on a good performance again on Tuesday.”
Euan might still have friends at Raith since there are at least six players there that played alongside him while making 92 appearances as a Rovers player in seasons 2017-18 and 2018-19 but he pledged that there would be none on Tuesday!
“It doesn’t matter to me whether it is Raith or, like I said Dundee, just as long as we win the game, I could not care less who it is.”
Euan believes that anything is possible in a local Derby play off:-
“When it goes to a play off game over two legs, all previous form goes out the window when it comes to these games. Obviously we know the last game against them wasn’t acceptable as I am sure they would have thought when they came to East End.
“It is one to look forward to. We will get over Friday night, go over the bits and pieces that we can improve on. There is stuff that we can touch up on, the goal was a bit sloppy but again there were a lot of positives that we can take into the game.
Dunfermline’s record in play off games is lost three and drawn one, Raith Rovers most recent record in the 2007 and 2008 Division One play offs is lost two and drawn two. They defeated East Stirlingshire 3-2 in a Division Two play off but that was in 1907! Euan continued:-
“For our club, it is maybe once in ten years that we have been in a position to go and try and attack the Premiership. Over the piece a lot of folk at this club need to take credit because there have been other teams who have been there and not managed to get over the line. We have done it with a game to spare. I think we are due some credit there.
“I said when I signed at Dunfermline that the stature of the football club is massive they have that potential to go and be a big big club in Scotland. There is no point in talking about it, we need to go and do it.”
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