Manager on Thursday

After the win at Ayr John Potter has found the two week wait for a match very disappointing but claims that he has used the time wisely:-

“You want to keep playing especially when you are winning, no matter what you are doing, you want to keep playing games. We have had four U20 or reserve games as you would call it and a lot of the boys have got game time.

"The new signings have come in and trained with the boys, so we have worked hard and hopefully we will be able to go again on Saturday and try and build on the win we got a couple of weeks ago."

It was October when Dunfermline last managed back to back wins on potter is very aware of that:-

“The thing that I have spoken about is to get a start that was the important thing and then you have to build on it and if we are to climb the table and get anywhere we have to win games, it doesn’t matter what anyone else does. It is important that we get back to winning ways and it would be nice to do it here in front of the home fans where we have maybe let ourselves down in the last couple of months. Hopefully we can get the win.

Everyone is hoping that the new signings can give the squad a boost, no one more so than the manager:-

With Paul George coming in this week, that’s now five players in and five out. I think it has given us a wee bit of freshness in the squad and I think it has given us a better balance to the squad. At the same time it is always nice to bring new players in for their effect plus the effect they have on the other players as well. It can spur players on, they may see somebody coming in that plays in the same position as them or somebody that may create chances for them, so its been good. I think the new signings have brightened it up a wee bit and hopefully they can spark the players who have been here a wee while to improve their form."

Paul George arrives as a type of players that the manager felt was missing from his team:-

“He wants to take people on, he will be a crowd pleaser. He wants to take people on in the final third, create and score goals. He can play wide, he can come in as well, but primarily he wants to take people on and get balls into the box and I think that is something we have been missing.

"It's probably only Andy Stirling that is naturally suited to that role. He gives us a wee bit width if we want it and I have known him a couple of years now from watching games and playing against him.

"He has had his ups and downs at Celtic, a bad leg break and he is on a comeback so he is hungry. He’s proved that to us, he wants to come, he’s trained well so hopefully he will be a big asset to the squad."

Stenhousemuir have proven to be a hard taam to break down this season but John Potter thinks he has players who can make it difficult for them to play against:-

"I think the players that we have brought in are creative players, I think they will help the forwards and they will maybe help in that vital moment of games when you need to try and score a goal. Looking at Stenhousemuir, Brown Ferguson is in charge now and when he was there before they were quite open and scored a lot of goals. So we don’t know what to expect in the game

"If we have everybody fit, then I think we have a well balanced strong squad and we have a lot of options. Especially as the players who have not been involved in the last victory a couple of weeks ago have played a lot of football and impressed me as well so its going to be difficult picking a team now. As long as the eleven players get a win then we will be happy."

"The loan market is still open to the end of March and I still have three of them if I want to use them and I would hope to get possibly one more in. You never know what can happen, it could be that someone wants one of our players so it can still change no matter that the window is shut the loan market is still open, so we are looking all the time."

Right back Ryan Williamson is back training with the squad and working hard. He has been doing a lot of strengthening work on his knee and building up his fitness but he is back full training, flying into tackles and even when there have been a few meaty challenges he has had no problems.

Potter is planning on playing Ryan Williamson in the under 20s game next week at Kilmarmock and hopeful that then he will be right back into contention. The gaffer also had good news about his othe injury plagued player:-

"We are hopeful that Ryan Wallace may be fit to return next week. He will be back training and that will hopefully be the end of his problems as well. Apart from those two, we have a fully fit squad and there is competition for places."

that competition is just what every manager wants and Potts is happy to have the headache over who to select:-

"It is yes a headache, but a good one. There are a lot of games coming up in the next month, so I have said to the squad that everybody will be used."

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