Midfield role for McAusland

"You only need to be here a short period of time to see the quality of players at this club.

Kyle McAusland hails from Ayrshire and started in football at boys club level before joining Ayr United as a youth. After three seasons at Ayr he was signed by Rangers; that was at under 15 level and following two season long loans to his first club and then earlier this season loaned to Brechin City, he was released by the Ibrox club in January 2015.

Kyle joined Dunfemline on 14th January, five days before his 22nd birthday, on a short term contract until the end of May. At Rangers Kenny McDowall had offered to extend his loan until the end of the season and Kyle thought that Glebe Park might be his destiny until the opportunity to join Dunfermline became evident.

The player takes up his story:-

"I felt that Dunfermline was the best option for me. I had spoken to John Potter and he had been asking me if I fancied it. I said definitely, there was the appeal of full time football at a big big club like Dunfermline. I hopefully will play my part."

Dunfermline fans may recall Kyle playing against the Pars twice while he was with Ayr United. He recalled:-

"I was playing right back but since I broke into the first team at Rangers the coaches saw me playing a holding midfield role. It was for different reasons, some said I had the legs for it. It suits my game where you are on the ball, passing, moving and hopefully scoring a few goals while defending as well.

"I played in that position at Brechin and did well. I am pretty open to playing in a number of positions. At Ayr I played right back and centre half, even when I first started in football I used to play striker. I am really comfortable in midfield now."

The manager views this flexibility as a bonus as we approach the time in the season when suspensions can kick in. Having scored three goals in three games Kyle is capable of solving the Pars goal finding problem. He voiced his opinion on that:-

"It is the final third that's missing. They are obviously playing well but it is a run of results that they need. If I can chip in a few goals then it will be ideal."

Kyle was happy enough to accept the short term contract because it gives him an opportunity to impress:-

"Obviously if the club do well and get promoted then I'd like to stay. The first concern is the game against Airdrie on Saturday and we will take it from there.

"I played against them quite recently with Brechin. They are a good team but you only need to be here a short period of time to see the quality of players at this club. I am happy that the boys that are here can do the job."

Even though it was Kyle's first day he knew what to expect:-

"I was here at the start of the season for a week or two and really enjoyed that time here. It didn't work out for different reasons but I know the boys and management team. It is good to see boys like Andy Barrowman coming back, he did well at Morton and hopefully can come in and score a few goals. The club is moving in the right direction and hopefully Saturday will prove that."

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