Johnston urges Pars to find shooting boots

Allan Johnston has urged his whole team to pitch in with the goals Dunfermline need to spark their Championship promotion play-off push back to life.

The Pars nudged themselves into fourth spot with Saturday’s goalless draw with Livingston, but were unable to take full advantage of their hosts being reduced to 10 men in the second-half with Jordan Thompson’s red card.

The Fifers have now gone five games without a victory and know that Morton, who knocked them out of the Scottish Cup in that sequence, are only below them on goal difference and have two games in hand.

Johnston has stressed the need for the East End Park men to land a play-off place this term after finishing fifth last season.

And he has called on all areas of his team – not just his strikers – to step up to the plate in the coming weeks.

He said: “It’s only us that can get us out of the rut we’re in just now and we’ve got to make sure we work even harder.

“We’ve got to make sure we take the chances we get, because unfortunately sometimes when you get a few bad results maybe the chances don’t go in. And you get punished for the slightest error.

“But I think there’s pressure on the whole team to score goals, not just the strikers.

“The pleasing thing for me is we’ve created chances and I’m sure if we keep creating chances then we will get goals because we have got good players up front and players who can score goals.”

Allan Johnston: wants chances turned into goals.