Captain's Cyprus Log

Shaun Byrne sees the other side of Ayia Napa.

Shaun Byrne enjoyed being woken up by bright sunlight and the training in warm weather that turned out to be quite a contrast to the Scottish winter they had a two week reprieve from. Unlike his last trip to Ayia Napa he did not come home with a souvenir tattoo.  This time the highlight for him was two matches against top Russian opponents:-

"We played CSKA Moscow under 21s and a team we all thought were FC Khimki. They were a First Division side but it showed that we have a really good team at Under 20 level. We are in the Quarter Final of the Scottish Youth Cup.  We are only three points off third in the league; there are loads of good players in our team."

Ayia Napa = an opportunity to get to know team mates better

With Jim Jefferies keen on developing young talent Shaun said that coach John Potter is also pushing his team in the direction of the first team. The performance when they came up against CSKA U21s was a pointer to gauge that the young Pars squad might just have what it takes.  Shaun felt that the 1-0 win over them was deserved:-

"They kept the ball along the back but we had loads of chances. We watched them in training and also saw Legia Warsaw, Ruben Khazan and Levski Sofia in training. It was pre season for some of these teams but they were sharp. Pitches were dry but good and we had a run at seven in the morning one day. We got plenty of rest time in the afternoon in between the two daily training sessions."

Shaun went straight back into the Dunfermline first team against Livingston on Saturday but for him it was his first taste of defeat in seven first team appearances.  He hopes to make an impact in the second half of the season:-

"The gaffer said that I did well before I went to Cyprus and that I could go with my head held high. I will keep fighting for a place."