The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
‘It’s in our own hands’, Johnston tells players
DUNFERMLINE: Manager will not rely on other teams to do them any favours in push for play-off place
Allan Johnston has urged Dunfermline to ignore the play-off permutations and put together one final push for a shot at promotion.
The Pars know if they win their remaining three games they will finish in the top four and give themselves a tilt at a top-flight return.
With Inverness Caley Thistle not yet out of the running and Morton desperate to replace either Dunfermline in third or fourth-placed Dundee United, it promises to be an almighty scramble to make the play-offs with Livingston, who themselves still need at least a point to confirm their place.
United, Inverness and Morton all won in midweek, with Caley Thistle scoring a winner nine minutes from time and Morton clinching all three points in the fourth minute of injury-time.
And Johnston, whose side host bottom team Brechin City tomorrow before taking on Inverness and Dumbarton, admits that was proof his players cannot rely on any help in their bid to clinch the play-off spot they desire.
He said: “Every game is massive between now and the end of the season. We’ve got three huge games left, two of them at home, so we have a really good opportunity.
“All the other teams are pushing for a play-off place as well.
“But we can’t rely on other teams getting results, and looking at their fixtures and who they’re going to beat and what points they’re going to get. “We’ve just got to focus on ourselves. “It was incredible in midweek, especially if you look at when the goals were scored as well, but the results went our way last weekend.
“We’ve just got to make sure we do the job.
“If we get the results we need then it’s in our own hands.
“We’ve got ourselves in a great position and it’s going to be a big final push to get us there.”
Brechin will be the first team seeking to put a spanner in the works as Dunfermline seek the three wins they crave in the coming fortnight.
The Angus part-timers remain without a league win all season and are running out of games to avoid a dismal record.
However, Johnston is adamant the already-relegated Glebe Park outfit have deserved more this term and is desperate to avoid an embarrassing slip-up at East End Park tomorrow.
He added: “We know we need to win, we need to go out there and get the result.
“Brechin are playing without any pressure and they had a really tight game last weekend against St Mirren, so we’ll have to put a performance in.
“But the boys are looking forward to every game and are playing with a lot of confidence just now.
“The last thing you want to do is underestimate Brechin. They’ve been really unfortunate this season.
“I know they’ve not picked up many positive results or picked up many points, but there are a lot of their games that have gone right to the wire.
“We’ve just got to make sure we start the game right and go and get the goals we need, and hopefully roll on to the next one.”
The last thing you want to do is underestimate Brechin. They’ve been really unfortunate this season. ALLAN JOHNSTON