Jim Jefferies on Thursday

28/11/13: JJ - "We can play teams off the park and suddenly be out of the cup through one mistake.

Dunfermline travel to face Ayr United in the William Hill Scottish Cup on Saturday and will return two weeks later in the league but Jim Jefferies is happy to get a cup tie break from the routine of the league. He spoke to the website on Thursday:-

"Our form has been good in the league recently so we are going into the game on a high. We understand that it will be a very difficult game and nobody should look into the last time we played Ayr and won 5-1. That was a day when some fantastic footballing moves were finished off well; it doesn't always happen like that.

"I agreed with Mark Roberts at the time when we said that the score was not just, given the way Ayr played. We deserved to win but maybe 5-1 was a bit harsh on them. That was due to the quality of the goals and the excellent first 45 minutes performance.

"Ayr caused us problem that day and they could not do much about the goals. They were terrific goals and no team could have done anything about the goals."

Jim Jefferies reached the age of 63 last week and he has now 30 years of football management behind him. Trips to Ayr are nothing new for him:-

"I have been there a few times in cup ties. I was there with Kilmarnock a few years ago, I have been down there as a player with Hearts and you never get an easy game at Ayr. The fact that we beat them the last time will always be a spur for them."

The reward for both teams is the possibility of going into the next round and the chance of a plum tie. Pars United have been sensible in not budgeting for cup progress but that fails to take the pressure off since JJ knows that maximising income only comes with cup success.

"We can play teams off the park and suddenly be out of the cup through one mistake. We are going into it in good form but they have a lot of physical players, a lot of experience in their team. They are up there just behind us in the league.

"What will be key in the game on Saturday is who defends better. They have been guilty of losing goals, we have been guilty of not having too many clean sheets, both teams can score goals.

"Defending is not just about the back four; you have to defend from the front, defend well as a team. At the same time go and play their natural game to win. We have won five of our last six games and Rangers are the only team to beat us. We all know that we put up a great account of ourselves that night, it hinged on a decision that changed the way the game was going.

"In the other games we have done remarkably well and so we go into a cup tie with confidence and a buzz that everyone is going well. You just need to keep your feet on the ground and focus on how you win those matches. That's by doing everything well consistently and hopefully we will do that on Saturday."

The Manager was well aware that Ayr United striker Michael Moffatt is the top goalscorer in League One:-

"He is very good, he is a threat and so is Kevin Kyle. He has been out of the game regularly due to bad injuries but he knows the game well and has a presence where if you switch off for a second he will punish you.

"They have goalscorers but so have we, as we have proved recently. The team needs to defend all round the pitch and restrict them to very few opportunities. Like all cup ties we know that there are mistakes made, particularly with young kids like we have got. Sometimes you can get away with it so you try and make as little as possible.

"At the same time if Ayr have a weakness in their defence with losing goals then we have the players to exploit that as well. It has the makings of a cracking cup tie and we want to do well because we want an interest in the next round. It does a lot for the Club and gives the fans something to look forward to. We can try and repay them for the way that they have looked after the players and saving the Club. This is how we pay them back.

"You can go and play well in cup ties and dominate games but not get that break on the day. In a cup tie you are out and that's something that the players need to learn from. We go down there with one aim and that is to get through to the next round as quick as we can, Ayr will be the same."

Ross Millen missed out of last weekend's match against Brechin City with an ankle injury but he trained on Thursday meaning that JJ has a full squad to select from. The Manager admitted that was a great position to be in:-

"We had young Ryan Williamson come in last week when Ross was injured. Ross has been doing great all season and has improved his defensive side a lot. People forget that Ryan played in a game where it was ideal for him to come into a good side.

"It did not faze me to bring him in at all. I could have chopped it around a bit and put Geggan or Luke Johnston in there. Ryan is 17 and not played any games away from home yet. It is a Scottish cup tie so the dilemma is do we go with him because he will be on a high after his performances last weekend.

"He was going into a team that is full of confidence, everything was in his favour to go and do well but at Ayr he is competing against somebody who is a couple years older and who has played a lot more first team games. We will make the decision and keep them both on their toes until kick off."

The Manager confirmed that the two 17 year olds Ryan Williamson and Lewis Martin had captured the attention of the national squad at under 19 level and that Shaun Byrne had been watched by the under 21 coach.

 
Ryan Williamson and Lewis Martin

"When Mark Wotte came over to visit us, he took in the under 20s game against St Johnstone that night. They played extremely well and caught his eye. He has invited them for a training get together in December. That is good for the Club but we thought that one or two who have come through and done well in the first team might have got recognition so Neil McCann had a word with Billy Stark when they crossed paths recently.

"Billy went and watched them at Airdrie and text Neil to let him know that they had done enough for him to keep an eye on them. Shaun did play well at Airdrie that day, scored and got us the penalty. His overall performance was very good. There are one or two that have done extremely well as young kids to come in and should be knocking on the door for a look.

"We think that they are good enough to get recognition but we are not here to pick Scotland's team. They stand and fall by who they pick, all you can do is recommend and try and help. We can only pass on that information and it is up to them. We will not be knocking down their doors if they do not pick them. If we make them aware of how we think these boys are playing then it is up to them if they decide they want to look at them.

"We can do no more than play them and praise them when they are doing well. They have been doing well and not just Shaun Byrne, one or two others."