The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Pars all fired up for Bairns – McManus
Dunfermline striker Declan McManus is adamant that tonight’ s clash with Falkirk will be just as fiercely contested – despite the absence of supporters.
The rivals lock horns at East End Park in the Betfred Cup, with McManus keen to lead the Pars to a second straight Group E win following Tuesday’s victory at Dumbarton.
McManus, who returned to the Pars during the summer, is particularly looking forward to the clash after scoring 24 times on loan at the Bairns from Ross County last season.
And even though there will be no fans to remind the players just how much this match means to the respective supporters, McManus believes those on the pitch will still be fired up.
He said: “There is always added spice in Dunfermline versus Falkirk games – there always has been in the ones that I have played in.
“It will be no different on the park even though the fans will not be there to create an atmosphere, but I am sure that the two teams will be fired up for a derby and make an atmosphere for themselves.
“Obviously it has added interest for me after playing for Falkirk last season.
“It is just another game but it is a big game. It is going to be a tough test, they have a good team and play good football.”
M cM an us is looking forward to going up against his former team-mates but has warned that the Pars can’t take Falkirk lightly, despite the Bairns being in a division below.
He added: “I have told the boys in the Dunfermline dressing room that it’s not going to be an easy game.
“For the Falkirk boys there is that added bit coming up against a Championship team and they want to show that they are of the same quality.
“There are still a lot of the team there that I played with last year.
“I know them well and they will know me well but anything can happen on the day and I look forward to coming up against them.”
McManus, meanwhile, admits he was gutted how last season panned out, with Falkirk, who were a point adrift of leader Raith Rovers in League One, being denied the chance of promotion when it was decided to end the season on a points-per-game basis.
He added: “Being part of that at the time was horrible.
“We felt that we were going to go on and win the league and I think a lot of other people thought that as well but these are unprecedented times and there was nothing that we could have done about it. It was taken out of our hands.
M cM an us expects a tough game against his former side.
He added: “They have a team of boys who have played at a high level, played for big clubs and won things. I know that last year they thought they were a Championshipquality team .”
Falkirk will be itching to get going after being awarded a 3-0 victory over Covid-19 hit Kilmarnock on Tuesday due to the Rugby Park side not being able to fulfil the fixture.
Joint managers Lee Miller and David McCracken could hand a debut to Matthew Connelly after signing the goalkeeper on loan from Motherwell.