Manager pre cup tie

29/11/12: JJ - "I think it will be closer this time due to what happened in the last game.

Jim Jefferies says that his players are looking forward to the return to Firhill on Saturday on Scottish Cup duty and indeed he would be disappointed if they weren't.

"What happened a few weeks ago is fresh in their memory so if we manage to pull it off then that will soften the blow.The good thing is when it is in the league you get the opportunity in games against them or the likes of what happened when Hamilton beat them and we beat the Rovers, it nullified the points that we lost that day.In cup ties you don't get that opportunity - we want to be in the next round as Partick Thistle will want to be."

For a lot of reasons - fans, players, profile and in Dunfermline's current financial predicament a good Scottish Cup run would be just as welcome off the park, the Manager explained that his team would be trying hard to get a result:-

"When the draw comes out it is very unlikely that either Partick Thistle or Dunfermline (especially us with the a new young team) would be favourites to win the Cup, but you still hope to get a draw where you can get good fortune. As we showed against Aberdeen in the League Cup we were unlucky not to get through in that game you could get two or three rounds out of it.

"If you get Celtic or Rangers like a couple of teams in the lower divisions have at Parkhead or Ibrox,then you could make as much money as three or four rounds anyway and therefore you could take the view that if that happened and you lost then you would have made a few bob out of it and concentrate on your league programme.  Partick Thistle is a game where they will be saying the same as us, they have beaten us twice this season so hopefully we can make it third time lucky for us. We can beat them, they can beat us  I think it will be closer this time due to what happened in the last game.

"Partick deserved to win that game but there were times in the game, if you analyse the game, especially at 1 - 1 we had a great chance to make it 2 - 1 and it would have been a totally different game.At 3-1 we had a great opportunity to make it 3 - 2 and then two minutes later thinking you still had a chance a 35 yarder goes in the top corner and its 4 - 1.Nothing went for us that day, Partick thoroughly deserved to get their win.

"Goals change games and when we had an opportunity to do that we didn't take it. We ended up losing the game convincingly, maybe not as convincingly as the score suggested, but at the same time we can have no complaints as we were well beaten by a team who played really well on the day. Jackie came out after it and said that was the best performance of the season from his team, so we will have to make sure we put in our best performance of the season to get through."

The gaffer dismissed any threat of the off the field goings on affecting his players ability to focus on the cup tie:-

"The good thing about this situation is I think it would be worse if the players weren't being kept up to date.Gavin Masterton and one of the other directors has kept us fully up to date.What he said would happen, so far has happened and probably better than expected.It was going to be two weeks before we got the balance of our salaries but it happened in one week.  Which was a bonus, if you like.

"We were told that October and November would be difficult months for the Club but from December onwards looks to be back on track.We have to accept that it is a difficult period for the Club and we understand that. The reasons given for that were acceptable and there is not a lot you can do about it.We just have to help the Club as we have and to take Gavin at his word that he would be doing his best to sort out November as quick as possible and if he says everything is going to be alright in December then we will take his word for that.

"We will just get on with concentrating on the football aspect and I don't think anyone goes on to the pitch worried or talking about it because your instincts as a footballer are to go out there and compete and win a football match. When it comes down to that we are not going to use it as an excuse, its something that is there and shouldn't happen, but it has and we just have to deal with it and adapt with it. Try and help the Club, and put it this way if you get through to the next round it will help with getting the wages paid! It probably has a knock on effect.

"The wages are due on Friday, and I was with Gavin on Tuesday and he said he would let me know within the next 48 hours just when the make up of what was going to be paid and when it was going to paid, so I said I would let the players know as soon as he was in touch. If he was sitting there not answering our calls then it becomes a worry and affects you on the pitch because you are not getting told anything.We are comfortable with what is happening."

Despite all that, there is a great spirit in evidence at the training ground and the Manager again praised his squad:-

"Because they are going well, they are a new, young team and they have gelled very quickly. I've said in previous interviews that somewhere down the line you will be kicked in the teeth but its how you deal with that.We lost heavily to Partick Thistle, we never felt sorry for ourselves, we knew we got what we deserved and then you look for a response and since then we have played a difficult game against Raith Rovers, played really well and gave them their first defeat at home and then you play a team who have just changed their manager, but we dealt with that convincingly and that is the best way to get it out of your system. They will be itching to get out on Saturday and prove that they have got to go about it in a better manner, which I am sure will happen anyway.Partick will know that we will want to make up for the last time."

Jim Jefferies is hoping to have a full strength squad to select from for the visit to Firhill. Steven Jordan has trained all week, though there is still Friday to go, and he will keep his fingers crossed that nothing happens in training.  Ryan Thomson will also be available for this match.