Manager on Christmas Eve
Monday, 24th Dec 201224/12/12: JJ - "if we can find our shooting boots then somebody is going to get three or four goals rattled past them ...
On Christmas Eve preparations for the Falkirk match were fully underway at Pitreavie. The players returned from training at Dunfermline High School and youth players Lewis Spence and Finn Graham prepared the kit under the careful supervision of Mo Hutton. The Manager, Jim Jefferies, was on good form as he spoke exclusively to the website immediately after lunch:-
"The mood is good with everything getting sorted out last week. The players have been buzzing in training and there is good news in that it looks as though Paul Gallacher will be fit to return. Joe Cardle has recovered from the virus that made him miss the last game. There is a little doubt over Andy Geggan, he was not feeling well and didn't train today but we are expecting him to be alright."
So it looks like Christmas might be good to Jim Jefferies as he should have a full squad to choose from:-
"You want this kind of selection problem every week. You don't want to be scraping around for players and it keeps everybody on their toes. You just have to make the decision and get on with it."
Disappointing players who are left out is "just like water off a duck's back" claimed Jim Jefferies who is more concerned about the water that has fallen on the pitch in recent days. East End Park however was looking perfectly playable on Monday morning with only a small pool in the McCathie Stand end goalmouth.
"A couple of weeks ago it was all about frost and hard ground. The undersoil heating costs money to put on but the Club needed the money. You cannot control what happens with the weather when it is down to rain, hopefully effort will be put in because everybody wants this game on. You want to play at this time of year because you will get a better gate and it is against your greatest rivals. They have won their last four matches, so it becomes a big game and hopefully we can get back on their winning days.
"People are on holiday and after all the Christmas Day festivities they will want to get out of the house. Boxing Day is traditionally a very good day for football, all the clubs will be looking forward to it and hopefully they will get a few more through the gate. Because it is Falkirk we can expect both sides to be well supported. Falkirk fans get behind their team for big matches like this but our supporters will be well up for it, they were at Falkirk as well and got behind the team. It will be another close encounter."
With Dunfermline having a free Saturday, Jim watched Falkirk defeat Airdrie United and noted that they have a lot of young players who have been taught to get the ball down and pass it.
"They play a certain way with a bit of freedom. It is like everything else if you sit off them and allow them to play, they will cause you problems but if we can get at them and get the tempo of the game, close them down and we get on top of them then we will be asking questions of them. We are capable of doing that."
Jefferies watched Falkirk striker Lyle Taylor hit three goals past Airdrie to bring his season total to 13. The 22 year old has found the net in a way he failed to do in his native England. His success in Scotland has been somewhat different from the four goals in over 40 appearances for Hereford United and Bournemouth.
"Lyle is a very good young player, he has got pace, he's got strength and he has good composure and a good finisher as well. He is doing well for Falkirk and I am sure that he is catching the eye of a lot of club. When the transfer window opens in January I am sure that if there is any club looking for a young talented centre forward then he fits the bill. Falkirk will be disappointed if he goes but they will also benefit because I am sure that he would attract a sizeable."
Another Falkirk player who caught the Pars manager's eye on Saturday was Jay Fulton who did not play in the first game at the Falkirk Stadium in October.
"He comes from a good footballing family and I know his dad (Stevie) really well. I had him at a number of clubs at a couple of clubs. That is where he gets it from and he showed fantastic skills to score the first goal last Saturday. It was a difficult situation but he was clever and the rest of them work their socks off as well.
"That's something that you can't say we don't do. We work our socks off as well but things have just not been going for us. We have not been taking our chances, we have been creating them but if we can find our shooting boots then somebody is going to get three or four goals rattled past them and hopefully that's on Wednesday."
The Manager joked that as far as he was concerned he would be closing down his phone for the duration of the up and coming January transfer window.
"It is part of building a young side, if you are going well you are going to attract attention. I am sure that there will have been people attending our games that we don't know about and suddenly we will find out when the window opens. This club is like a lot of clubs and not in a position to turn down any sizeable offer. It will be up to the board to decide whether or not we keep the player but that might not happen anyway. I would be happy with that.
"I am pretty sure that one or two of our players are attracting interest. I have plenty of experience of the game and know that there are one or two players in our team who could play at a higher level and certainly the Premier League. They showed that with their efforts against Aberdeen. It is about finding the consistence of doing it week in week out and not just in one off games.
"I have seen them in training, I have seen them in games and there are one or two of them who could play at a higher level so we will just have to see if somebody comes knocking but if they don't, I will be delighted. They will not be available that easily.
"We have built up a young side and you have to remember what the remit was this season. We started down this young path to be challenging for promotion. As long as we are playing good football, challenging and keeping the crowds coming along and interested. If we just miss out, the foundations will be there to do better next year."
The Manager has sent Fayssal El Bakhtaoui and Ivan D'Angelo back to their families in France and Italy but both are expected to return after the break. D'Angelo is only contracted until the end of the year but Jim Jefferies expects to speak to the players agent Stefan Salvatore soon.
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