Another special day for Grainger

"If at the start of the season, the club had been offered one game against Cowdenbeath at home to be promoted then they would have snapped their hand off.

It's cup final weekend but despite having played for both Dundee United and St Johnstone Danny Grainger's attention is firmly on his big match this weekend. He ducks the question over which side he favours in the Tayside Derby at Celtic Park since the Fife Derby at East End Park is one he firmly believes Dunfermline can win:-

"If at the start of the season, the club had been offered one game against Cowdenbeath at home to be promoted then they would have snapped their hand off. That is all that it boils down to to be fair just as long as we don't lose our focus on how well we play and be affected by how big the game is."

Danny, a Scottish Cup winner with Hearts only two years ago, has experienced promotion before at Gretna on three occasions. He compared the emotions experienced in winning promotion-

"Obviously the one from Division One to the SPL in the last minute was special. Promotion is special no matter what division you are going into. Winning cups and playing in big games are massive but promotion is the main thing especially for a club like Dunfermline from a lower league.

"We shouldn't be in this division, given the size of club that they are. They are an SPL team and obviously the Championship next year will be very lucrative to them. It is not just attractive to the players to be playing against bigger and better teams, it is a chance for the club to go on and do well out of it as well."

The game on Wednesday turned into a throw in challenge in which Danny played his role but he thinks Sunday's play off final will be a different kind of match:-

"The pitch on Wednesday wasn't really suited to getting the ball down and playing football. It was always going to be a battle and I thought the boys stood up very well to it. We can't say we played really well but we got the job done that we set out to do and that was to give ourselves a right good chance going into the second leg.

"That is what we have done. The boys are really confident; not overconfident but know that Cowdenbeath possess threats from Hemmings and Stewart and that they are good at the back. We know that we need to be on the top of our game to get through the tie. We also know that the qualities that we have will be suited to our big pitch and good surface."

The 27 year old who joined the Pars from St Mirren at the end of January had special praise for the support his team receives from the stands:-

"When you come out and there is a big lift from the crowd it helps you and gives you that extra half yard here and there. Against Stranraer even though the ball seemed not to fall for us in the box and it wasn't falling in the back of the net, the fans were fantastic.

"They helped us all the way through the game even when things were getting a bit frustrating for the players as well as the fans and the management. They were great on Wednesday night and no doubt they will be on Sunday as well."