SONS ARE GOING WIN FOR THE KILL
LEAGUE ONE
KYLE HUTTON believes the tone for Dumbarton’s League One title hopes can be set on day one.
The former Rangers midfielder is convinced a win at East Fife today can give the Sons a platform to bounce back to the Championship straight away.
And Hutton insists the words of assistant boss Ian Durrant will be ringing in his ears when he runs out at New Bayview.
He said: “Durranty preaches to us about the importance of momentum, he says a winning mentality is a hard thing to get rid of.
“Once you get into that winning groove it’s difficult to be knocked out of it.
“We need to generate that mindset this season but we have a squad here which is better than the one we had last season.
“The manager Stevie Aitken is brilliant at recruiting.
“Bobby Barr is a flying machine, Ross Forbes is technically a fantastic talent and we have someone like Rory Loy who will always score.”
Hutton is also convinced their tried-and-tested stars will have a huge part to play as the Sons aim to bounce back from a 6-0 Betfred Cup loss to St Mirren.
He said: “It’s important that we managed to keep the bulk of last season’s squad together.
“Last Saturday’s defeat was disappointing but it’s history now and it’s going to be interesting to see how we get on this weekend against a side in our own league.
“We’ve been facing sides like Hearts, Kilmarnock and St Mirren who are in the Premiership so East Fife will present a different type of test.
“But I have every confidence we can get off to a good start.
“This is really where the season starts for us as we need the three points.
“We wanted to do well in the Betfred Cup but it’s over now.
“The league is what it’s all about and it’s crucial we get off to a good start.”
East Fife boss Darren Young believes his side are ready for the challenge of facing Aitken’s title favourites.
He said: “Dumbarton will be one of the fancied teams this season but the first game of any season is a level playing field and we aim to get points on the board straight away.
“We gave a decent account of ourselves in the cup games and need to carry it into the league.”