Jim McIntyre calls for Dunfermline to build on point against Killie

Published on Thursday 9 February 2012 00:00

MANAGER Jim McIntyre has demanded his Dunfermline side build on their 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock after going level with Hibernian at the foot of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

Andy Kirk’s 44th-minute strike cancelled out James Fowler’s opener on Tuesday night as the Pars claimed a point to share the bottom of the standings with Hibs, albeit having played a game more and with a worse goal difference.

But Dunfermline’s search for a first home victory of the season goes on ahead of Saturday’s clash with Rangers at East End Park, and McIntyre is determined the barren run ends soon.

“We wanted to win the game and get above them [Hibs],” McIntyre said. “We didn’t do that, but we picked up a point. It’s important to see yourselves on the same points as another team rather than being stuck at the bottom. What we’ve got to do now is take that result and build on it.”

On-loan Rangers midfielder Kyle Hutton and former Ger Jordan McMillan made their debuts, and McIntyre was pleased with them. He said: “They’ve got good quality. McMillan used the ball well in the first half and looked to get the ball forward. Kyle’s got composure in the middle of the park. They will get better the more games that they can get.”

The Pars boss also praised goalkeeper Chris Smith, who replaced Iain Turner after the on-loan Preston stopper suffered from back spasms in the warm-up. Smith has made a couple of errors in matches this season and faced some challenging clearances on a bumpy playing surface.

McIntyre said: “I thought Chris handled it really well. You can see the park, it was difficult – any pass-back it was like a bouncing bomb. There were a couple that were hard to deal with, but, in the main, I thought he was excellent and he made a fantastic save to keep us in the match.”

Smith saved well from Paul Heffernan in the second half – one of the many moments Killie boss Kenny Shiels rued.

He felt his side should have returned to Rugby Park with all three points and said: “We’ve drawn six away from home. We’ve been so dominant in all of those games and we’ve ended up getting draws. Every away game we’re getting chances, but we’re not finishing them.”

Logged in as:

Comment here. Start typing your comment here:

Post comment

Please adhere to our Community guidelines

Your view

Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.