Three Pars can add up to a winning total
Dunfermline chairman Ross Mcarthur is hopeful the appointment of three former fans’ favourites in the club’s new management structure will help bring future success.
With ex-striker Stevie Crawford taking over from Allan Johnston as head coach, and former captain Greg Shields being named as his assistant, the Fifers also revealed that they had drafted in one-time Pars prodigy, Jackie Mcnamara, as football consultant. The move comes after some tetchy times at East End Park. Mcarthur recently criticised a minority of the club’s support for targeting him, Johnston and others at the club – including ball boys and girls – with abuse that “crossed the line”. Last weekend’s 2-2 draw with parttimers Alloa Athletic, and the fans’ furious reaction, proved the final straw for directors who had stayed loyal to Johnston until then.
The Pars chief is now hoping for more togetherness throughout the club.
Mcarthur said: “I think it’s a society thing now, where people want it and they want it now. They want success and it has to be instant.
“I’m not harking back, but our club has come through a lot of turmoil, and we almost went to rock bottom, and we have had to build back up. It’s about managing expectations.
“I’ve been getting abuse as well – that’s part and parcel of football, isn’t it?
“I felt obliged to come out and say what I had to say, because it’s not acceptable.
“I don’t care if you’re passionate about your team – you don’t behave like that.
“But we didn’t make a decision off the back of people getting criticised. It’s down to performances.
“If there’s division or there’s criticism, that’s not conducive to a good working environment.
“At any football club, if everybody’s together, if everybody’s engaged and moving forward, then we can be successful.”
Meanwhile, Crawford is unlikely to have much scope to revamp the squad he has inherited from Johnston. Mcarthur added: “We’re kind of limited in terms of what we can do at this moment in time, so we don’t anticipate there will be a lot of movement. “But there may be one or two we could change around and freshen up.”