Pars clicking for Phil's silver

"We like to get the ball down, get the ball wide, crosses into the box and we have to earn the right to do that.

"A welcome distraction" is how Phil McGuire views the cup semi final on Sunday but he warns against the Pars believing that they will take the psychological advantage from victory over Hibs last Saturday:-

"You never get two games of football the same.  It is a cup semi final, it's a massive park, Hibs will have a great fan base there and we will hopefully bring quite a few supporters as well.  So it is a completely different game, a one off game and we have to do exactly the same as we did at the weekend there. We don't just need to get in about Hibs but play well - I thought we did that from start to finish on Saturday."

The former Dons defender, who scored the important 83rd minute winner on Saturday, stressed how important it is to play the game in the way you want to play it:-

"We like to get the ball down, get the ball wide, crosses into the box and we have to earn the right to do that. First and foremost that will probably be a battle like it was on Saturday.  We have got to win most of the first and second balls.  If we had come off the park on Saturday not getting the three points it would have been two points dropped."

On Sunday Phil will have all his family at Hampden to cheer him on and hopefully witness another heroic performance from him:-

"You have got to enjoy it.  We have got ourselves there and it is a welcome distraction and we have to go out and make the most of it."

As a 20 year old he was left out of Aberdeen's two cup finals in 2000. He recalls how as a young player he enjoyed the build up of big games at the National Stadium:-

"To go down and stay in an hotel.  See all the fans outside, all the cheering going on and the atmosphere - you relish that and thrive on it.  You always strive to get back there. Personally I have got the chance, there are a few other players who have been there before.  We have that chance to go back and hopefully we will do well."

Phil McGuire is hoping that after almost a whole season searching for form that his Dunfermline team is about to get it together:-

"Now is the time to click in place.  Forget about the rest of the season, we have now got ourselves back in it. There has definitely been progress."

Could Wilson, Bamba and McGuire all play together again?

Phil was signed by Jim Leishman at the beginning of the season but since Stephen Kenny's arrival in November he has witnessed a different approach that has required patience:-

"He has his own ideas and he has brought in his own coaches. The two of them have their own ideas so to relate all that on to the park will take plenty of time. The Manager has stated that it is a long term plan and he is getting everything in place."

Time is not the only enemy as Stephen Kenny has had to contend with the adverse weather and the continual absence of players through injury, Phil continued his analysis of Kenny's impact:-

"Different elements dictate what the Manager's ideas are.  We have not had the best training facilities with the weather, sometimes we have had to train on the astroturf, certain players can't train so he can't get all his ideas out to everybody. 

"The way he approaches games and his tactical knowledge are very thorough and he demands 110% concentration.  The players know what he wants when they are going into a game which is good. That is the way it should be."