Owen Morrison Post Partick

"Every time I play I just want to do my best. I wasn't out to pro

Owen Morrison was a surprise inclusion in the starting line up against Partick Thistle. Only a few weeks ago Owen was told that the club would not be renewing his contract at East End Park and that he could leave whenever it suited him.  Faced with uncertainty Owen recently made the trip to China where he was offered a contract at Super League side Qingdao Zhongneng.

Having returned to Dunfermline to consider his future, the Irishman turned on a fine attacking performance in the midweek Fife Cup Semi Final so boss Stephen Kenny handed Owen the chance to help Dunfermline into another Semi Final. The team selection had the pundits puzzled but the clue was in the dropping of Stevie Crawford to the subs bench. 

Jim O'Brien started upfront alongside Jim Hamilton while Adam Hammill moved to the right wing to make weay for Owen on the left side of midfield.

"The gaffer has had a chat with me and he wants me to play until the end of the season which I am happy to do. He wants me to hold on and fight on for a place.  Who knows, we will just see what happens.

"I want to play here and do my best for this club. I have never said that I want to leave Dunfermline but I was four months away from being a Bosman so I wanted to find out about my future as soon as possible.  I was told if I got something the club wouldn't stand in my way, that is how it came about."

Owen would now be silly of course to walk away from the chance to play in a Scottish Cup Semi Final and is still keen to impress Stephen Kenny:-

"I knew him at Derry and thought this would be a chance. My form has been up and down all season but I thought when I came in and did well  against Rangers particularly.   I thought things were turning and then against Falkirk it was like a blizzard and after that I never really got a look in. It was a bit strange but at the end of the day he is the manager and you've got to get on with it.

"I think now we will re-unite and do the right thing for Dunfermline until the end of the season. I will try to impress, play for myself and give 100% for the club as well. I don't think that it is about proving a point, Stephen knows what I can do, it is just getting that out of me. Every time I play I just want to do my best.  I wasn't out to prove anyone wrong.

"Hopefully we will stay clear of Celtic and get the better draw in the Semi Final, who knows."

In full knowledge of Stephen Kenny's record of success in cup competitions, Owen joked about the destiny that seemed to open out in front of Dunfermline since beating Rangers and Hearts in the Cup campaign:-

"It would be the gaffer's luck, I'll tell you that! He has won a few cups in Ireland.  The nearer we get, we will go and maybe our name is on the Cup you never know.

"We did well today.  They had a wee patch in the second half but apart from that we didn't really look like we were going to get beat."

Qingdao; possibly better known as Tsingtao, is a provincial city in eastern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. Lying across the Shandong Peninsula while looking out to the Yellow Sea, Qingdao today is a major seaport, naval base, and industrial centre.  The stadium in Q?ngd?o has a capacity of 62,000.