The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Pars aim to avoid ‘sticky situation’
Andy Ryan has warned Dunfermline could swiftly find themselves in a “sticky situation” unless their new-look squad gels soon.
The Pars succumbed to a dismal 1-0 defeat at Arbroath last Saturday – a second successive loss that extended their winless run in the Championship that stretches back to March 9.
Ironically, that last league victory was a 1-0 triumph over Alloa, who the Fifers host in the third round of the Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Challenge Cup this afternoon.
And Ryan knows it is high time Dunfermline kickstart their campaign.
He said: “We have some good players in this squad, we just need them to click. But we need to get it to click pretty quick, to be honest, or we could find ourselves in a sticky situation.
“Training this week has been really competitive so we will be looking for a reaction again on Saturday. It is always the same when you get a disappointing result and a poor performance. You are desperate to respond.
“There is a trophy to be won and we will be trying our best to see how far we can get in it. We know it will be tough against a difficult side in Alloa, who are in the Championship as well, but we want to get the winning feeling back.”
Dunfermline were at least buoyed by the deadline day arrival of Greg Kiltie on loan from Kilmarnock, taking their tally of summer signings to a staggering 14.
And Ryan is hopeful the former Scotland under-19 international can provide further inspiration in the final third as the Pars seek to return to winning ways.
The ex-Airdrie marksman continued: “Greg is a real talent. We’ve already seen that quality in training. He is good on the ball, composed and hopefully he will bring that to the midfield.
“It’s another winger and that is something that the manager addressed – to try to get more crosses in the box and be a bit more of a threat from the flanks. I don’t think we have scored enough goals from that kind of area last season.”
Ryan, meanwhile, is seeking to kickstart his own “up and down” campaign in a competition he believes the Pars are treating seriously.
The 24-year-old has not found the net since scoring in Dunfermline’s first game of the season – a superb 3-2 win over St Mirren in the Betfred Cup in July.
Ryan added: “I think it has been a bit up and down so far but I want to get a few more minutes under my belt and try to kick on from there.
“The manager has been chopping and changing formations for different kinds of games, tests and venues. Before I signed on, I had a number of chats with the manager and he said that there would be some games with one up front, sometimes two. I knew that he would chop and change a bit so I just need to be patient and try to take my chance.”
Dunfermline will be without loan stars Harry Cochrane and Anthony McDonald, who were drafted into the Hearts Colts ranks for last night’s tie against Waterford United, but Stevie Crawford’s squad has an otherwise clean bill of health.