Pars fired up after derby demolition

Euan Murray has urged Dunfermline to use their Fife derby “embarrassment” as fuel in today’s pressure-filled encounter with Hearts.

The Pars were mercilessly ripped apart by rivals Raith Rovers in Tuesday night’s 5-1 hammering as they dropped worryingly out of the play-off places with the end of the campaign drawing close.

Coming on the back of allowing a two-goal lead to slip in last weekend’s 3-2 defeat to Dundee, the Fifers have endured a miserable week.

That is an experience shared by this afternoon’s visitors, with Hearts’ shock Scottish Cup exit at the hands of Highland League Brora Rangers swiftly followed by fan protests before and after their home loss to Queen of the South.

Murray is fully aware recent events ensure there is a lot riding on the East End Park showdown as both teams urgently seek something positive.

The Dunfermline skipper said: “I’m not going to beat around the bush or dress anything up. Purely and simply, Tuesday night wasn’t acceptable and it was embarrassing.

“For a lot of the players, it was a steep, steep learning curve as to how cruel and how punishing first-team football can be.

“I hope it hurts every single player as much as it hurt me coming off that park.

“That result and the criticism we’ll take as a team from it will certainly drive me on and spur me on.

“Although you’re hurting badly, you can’t get too down about it. You need to use it in a positive way going into this weekend’s game.

“That’s two bad results, one after another, but the season as a whole has been reasonably OK.

“We understand since November there’s been a drop-off, but there’s no point in dwelling on it. Only ourselves can turn it around.

“Going into the games we’ve got left, we need to look positively on them and use this as motivation to go and put things right.

“Hopefully we can put out performances that will make our fans happy again after what has been a terrible week.

“We need to get back to winning ways.”

As much as Dunfermline are desperate for a pickme-up after their derby doldrums, Murray is fully aware Hearts will cross the Forth with steely resolve as they seek to recover from their own travails.

Despite still enjoying a 10-point advantage at the top of the league with just five games remaining, there have been calls for Jambos manager Robbie Neilson, the former Dundee United boss, to lose his job in the wake of the Brora debacle.

Neilson’s former assistant, Stevie Crawford, could also come under similar strain at East End

Park if a play-off berth is not delivered in the coming weeks.

Murray added: “Everyone knows there’s pressure on Hearts going into this game.

“The one thing I would warn against, though, is I would expect them to come as a bit of a wounded animal.

“They’re going to be wound up and fighting and scrapping for everything. That’s what criticism does, it drives teams.

“Sometimes it can take you the other way and you actually pick up because of it.

“That’s what we need to do. We need to use any kind of criticism that’s come our way and the bad results and turn them into a positive.

“We need to get after folk again and start going into tackles again and doing the nasty side of the game like we did so well earlier on in the season.

“From there, it’s just

about seeing what we can get out of the game.

“Everyone knows, regardless of whether they’ve slipped off it lately, that Hearts are the best team in the league and they will win the league, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.

“But when you are at Dunfermline, it doesn’t really matter whether it’s Hearts coming or any other team in the league, you’re still expected to go and compete and at the very least try to win the game. There will be that pressure as well.

“But there’s pressure on both sides going into it and it’s just about us trying to manage that, and hopefully come away with something a bit more positive.”

● Arbroath are also in league action today when they host bottom side Alloa at Gayfield.

Dick Campbell’s Lichties can join eighth-placed Morton on 25 points with a victory.

RESPONSE: Skipper Euan Murray wants Pars to take their hurt out on leaders Hearts.