Manager on Thursday

19/12/13: JJ - "Going by other results they are not an easy team to beat ...

Jim Jefferies on weather watch:-

"I have heard that there is a forecast for winds up to eighty miles per hour; that's more than it was last week. Last week's were bad enough and I remember way back, playing up there where the goalkeeper took a bye kick and before anybody touched it went out for a corner. It just went up in the air and bounced inside his box and went straight over the goals - the referee gave a corner."

The memory of the 3-2 defeat at the hands of Arbroath in the Pars first home game in League One is still raw:-

"It was a game we should have won; Paul Sheerin said that after the game - we should have been out of sight by half time but if you don't take your chances. In fact by the time we got ourselves in front we should have been 4-1 or 5-1 ahead. We thought at 2-1 we would just go on from here but suddenly Mr Finnie gave an unbelievable penalty kick which let them back to 2-2.

"Then they broke up the park from our corner and the boy ran about 40 to 50 yards and crashed one in. We were 2-1 up just two minutes from half time but ended up 3-2 down. We came out in the second half and due to that bad decision for the penalty where Chris Kane got a booking, he grabbed somebody back and we were down to ten men.

"We battered them for the second half but they had something to hang on to, sat deep and defended very well. It was a sore one to take because I do not think there was any doubt that on the balance of play we were so superior.

"They have picked up a bit since. They have Dorris who has come back from Dundee, he has scored goals at this level. Bobby Linn is playing well for them as well and they have one or two useful players. I watched them against Rangers when they didn't get off to the best of starts but they acquitted themselves quite well.

"We know it will be tough. Going by other results they are not an easy team to beat. I have often said that sometimes playing away from home suits; I am not saying that we cannot play at home but it the teams that sit in and make it difficult that are hard to break down. Forfar sat deep at 1-0 and with experienced players it was not easy to find spaces in behind them.

"Away from home you are always feeling that the home team has a wee bit more about them to come forward and if they do that then it gives us a chance because we are a very good team on the counterattack because of the pace and movement that we have.

"If we can go there and dominate the game like we did at Ayr; it is tough fixture but we are well capable of winning. If we do it would set us up nicely for the Rangers game."

The Manager feels that four points from the last two games is probably what he might have hoped for - a win at home and a point away at Ayr. It reality it was the other way around but that increased the difference between Dunfermline in second and Ayr United in fourth to nine points.

"It keeps our run going because Rangers are the only team to beat us in eleven games. We know what happened there; we gave a good account of ourselves. We are looking to get as many points as possible to create that gap even bigger."

Central defender Callum Morris took a knock in training on Thursday but the Manager is confident that he will recover for Saturday. Robert Thomson slipped on the soft ground in training and has a groin strain. Stephen Husband has recovered from last Saturday, his substitution at Somerset Park was nothing other than fatigue having missed matches.

The Manager confirmed that he and Neil McCann have signed new contracts up to the end of the season 2014-2015. JJ said that he might be happy to retire from football management then but reserves making such a decision until nearer that time.