Captain Cardle

"To be put in the same category as some of the legends who have led Dunfermline is fantastic.

With Andy Geggan serving a one match suspension, Joe Cardle was very proud to be given the honour of leading the team out at Tannadice on Sunday.

"It is a massive honour for me to be named captain today, it means a lot to me. We didn`t get the win which is very unfortunate but it is something that I will remember forever, I never thought that I would see the day."

Even though he had 180 Pars appearances to his name, the 29 year old revealed that the captaincy came as a bit of a surprise to him:-

"I had not even thought about it. The gaffer just threw the captain`s armband at me before the game. I am one of the older boys in the team, more experienced and probably one of the louder lads as well. To be put in the same category as some of the legends who have led Dunfermline is fantastic. We are disappointed with the result but we need to concentrate on the league."

Joe was clear that it was going to be a tough ask to go to Tannadice and get the win that they wanted.

"I thought Dundee United played well today but still we created chances ourselves but didn`t really take them. They started the game well but we came into the game. The game opened up a bit and we got a bit of joy. Going in at half time we thought shooting into the home stand end in the second half that we were going to create chances.

"They scored the two goals and the sucker punch was that the first came at the right time. Their goal pushed them on and obviously got the second. We are disappointed but we have to start thinking about next week and concentrate on the league now.

"We will be watching the video tomorrow no doubt and look back on what we did right and what we did wrong. Next Saturday is our bread and butter hopefully we can forget about what happened today and get a win. Take the positives from today and move on."

Dumbarton are the opposition for the Pars opening league fixture next Saturday. Dundee United will be the visitors to East End Park on 10th September and of course there will be two more trips to Tannadice during the season in November and March. Joe felt that Sunday`s defeat only re-inforces his belief that the Championship is going to be a really tough league this season.

"We knew that we were going to be playing against quality teams. We have come on leaps and bounds in the last two or three years. We have a good young and fit squad and the boys are willing to do well for each other. I am sure that we will do that this season."

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