Manager ahead of Thistle

07/11/12: JJ - "I have always felt that they were favourites and results h

Jim Jefferies is hoping that Saturday's big game at Firhill will enable his side to claw back the three points that his opponents took from them earlier in the season:-

"The first time we played them this season it was a pointer to see how far ahead of us they were. We had a new team and Jackie McNamara had built up a good side. I have always felt that they were favourites and results have proved that."

The August meeting was a test for Jefferies team but he feels that when you evaluate that game over the ninety minutes, Dunfermline gave as good as they got.

"They had one good chance that they took, they could then have hit us on the break but we could have scored also. I felt that we deserved a draw but overall our performance that day suggested that we were not far away from being a team. I felt that we still had a lot of improvement in us and that has proved to be the case.

Dugout v Partick in August

"That day we had Andy Geggan at right back and Jordan McMillan was in the middle of the park but had to come off early. Callum Morris wasn't here so we have improved not just in getting people back from injury and bringing people in but improved as a team.

"Saturday will be another test to see how much we have improved from that game. This will not define anything since there is a long long way to go but what it will do is give us a wee pointer."

The Partick trip is followed by an equally tough away day at Starks Park and Jim Jefferies feels that these opponents will be in the top four challenging for promotion come the end of the season and so he hopes to be at full strength for the meeting against them:-

"The key man to come back in is Stephen Jordan. We need to get back to a settled team rather than playing people where we have been playing them. Left back is a position that has caused us problems and against Morton wasn't the right game to play young Ross Drummond. I felt that with him being out three days with flu that I'd put him on the bench and use him if I have to. At the end of the day we knew that he could play wide left and if Joe Cardle got injured we could put him in there too."

Stephen Jordan v Partick Thistle

Stephen Jordan got a reaction to a tough training session ahead of the Cowdenbeath game and had to miss out. Jordan can expect a similarly tough workout this week as his recovery is tested but his Manager is very hopeful that he will benefit from the extra two weeks without a game.

It is fortunate too that the Scottish Cup weekend left Dunfermline without a fixture since Josh Falkingham, Stephen Husband and Andy Kirk all missed the practice game last weekend. Add to that an aggravation to Joe Cardle's rib injury leaves the Manager wishing his team to be fit for Saturday.

"That free week has helped and everybody wants to be involved this weekend so we will keep our fingers crossed. There are still a few training sessions to go; you tell them to be careful but still work as hard to close people down while asking them to watch the rash tackles. We do not want them injured in training but that's easier said than done when there is a competitive nature about the players that you have got.

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The Manager has often been heard saying 'that you must train like you play' but he is telling his players not to be as zealous with tackles in training since he feels Saturday's fixture will challenge any in the SPL for the mantle of Match of the Day:-

"We are hoping for a decent crowd and a good atmosphere because we are playing against a good side. We know that but we also feel that we are a good side - we are neck and neck at the top of the league. It will not decide anything but it will give the side that comes out best the boost. We never ever play for draws - I have never asked a team to go out and do that - we will go out to win the game. At the end of the day, if you are away from home in a tough fixture like that and it ends up a draw it would probably be a better point for us. We want to try and take the three points back that they took off us at East End Park."

Since that set back on 18th August the only team to defeat Dunfermline has been Aberdeen in the Scottish Communities League Cup and even that night their manager, Craig Brown acknowledged that he was mighty relieved to leave Dunfermline with the victory. JJ continued:-

"Anyone at that Dunfermline v Aberdeen game knew, and even they knew, that there was only one team that deserved to win that game. We are not complaining about that but what softens the blow there was the performance of the players. That's why the fans were terrific in terms of the reception we got. We needed a wee bit of luck on the night, sometimes that is out of your hands, but that night all the luck went with Aberdeen."

The Pars gaffer watched Raith Rovers draw at Livingston last Saturday while his assistant Gerry McCabe took in Partick's home tie against the Highland League leaders, Cove Rangers. He does however concede that teams will raise their game when Dunfermline are the opposition:-

"Because of the tradition of the club, we are the target but we handle that side of it quite well. Every team in the league will probably play better against us because they have to."

The gaffer is trying to deflect the off the field problems away from the playing side:-

"It is not easy when wages are staggered but I am keeping the players up to date with everything. They have accepted that times are hard and what happened at board level was unforeseen. It is out of our control and I am sure that there are priorities there to make sure that it is solved.

"We can take Hearts as an example who have had more problems than most clubs. There were times there when the players put it to the back of their minds and got on with it. That's the attitude to take. It is not my side of things, I just hear what they tell me and concentrate on making sure that the players are in the right frame of mind. We will not make that an excuse, we will just trust the Club to sort it out as quickly as possible and let us get on with it."