Alan Pattullo: Romance of the cup must not let heart rule the head

IT'S fairly easy to want to sympathise with Dunfermline given their recent Scottish Cup history already includes a loss in the final to Celtic less than three years ago, on a day when their efforts to lift the trophy were eclipsed by the "Let's do it for Lenny" brigade.

Neil Lennon had decided to call it a day, and all were asked to lift their eyes to his glory in the days preceding the final, something which unfairly obscured Dunfermline's own part in a clash which offered them the chance to lift the cup for the first time since 1968.

In 2004, and in another final against Celtic, Dunfermline were again deserving of pity after they were denied the chance to go 2-0 ahead following a blatant handball by Bobo Balde in the box. Celtic, helped by a double from Henrik Larsson, came back to win.

But these were cruelties visited on the club by the footballing gods. Dunfermline's latest appointment with Scottish Cup heartache has not been via a skewed judgment by an unsighted referee, or arrived due to circumstances outwith their control.

The decision of the Scottish Football Association's emergency committee to expel the club from the competition following "a number of breaches" of rules during last Saturday's fourth round clash with Stenhousemuir has been in line with the punishments open to the game's governing body in this country. Brechin City were flung out of the competition two years ago when they fielded two ineligible players against Hamilton Accies. Again, the news was enough to spear a romantic's heart.

The Scottish Cup is about teams up-setting the odds in the fading light of a winter's afternoon. It is not about bullet points, four of which were needed in an email from the SFA to list the number of ways Dunfermline had erred. But then football without rules is nothing. Dunfermline's attitude to the submission of team lines – a fundamental plank underpinning senior football – was at best cavalier, and at worst willfully incompetent. Tempting though it might be to blame the SFA, it has simply acted in accordance to the rules, and with a heavy heart no doubt. What governing body would wish to harm one of its member clubs without due reason?

Gordon Smith might be advised to steer clear of Fife over the coming weeks, with the chief executive in the sights of another club from the kingdom. East Fife have had their annual winter payment withheld by the SFA for legal fees incurred when former player Kevin Fotheringham took the governing body to court over a ban. Again, the SFA should be within its rights to recoup money to which they clearly feel they are legally entitled. Scottish football is in recession, and the SFA is not immune.

However, in this instance the aggrieved club may well have a case. The legal costs were incurred in a case raised at the Court of Session in the name of the player, not the name of the club.

Dunfermline believe there are mitigating factors, and these will no doubt be played out in the appeal. For now, however, the unpalatable consequences – one report yesterday laid the blame at a lowly ticket office official – must not be allowed to obscure the issue.

The explanations from various Dunfermline figure-heads have been unconvincing, while there is the equivalent of a paper trail to be found on the internet if one logs on to a Dunfermline fans' forum. There the concern felt by Dunfermline fans after the inclusion on the substitutes' bench of the suspended Calum Woods is plain to see in the minutes leading up to kick-off. Their anxiety is also recorded when Woods then makes his ill-fated appearance in the second half. At 4.10pm a poster exclaims that he is now on the park.

The general tone in the contributions from fans is one of apprehension, as the possible ramification of this administrative oversight sink in. Most expect to be asked to replay a game which finished, unhelpfully as far as the SFA are concerned, with a 7-1 victory for Dunfermline. It meant that the decision to throw them out of the cup was considered to be yet more draconian, since the East End Park club had clearly flagged up their credentials as the superior outfit.

But the result of the game in question has as much relevance as the weather to the final verdict. Similarly, the outcome of the draw, which saw Dunfermline or Stenhousemuir handed a possible fifth round encounter with Celtic, will not have clouded the SFA's judgment. Since it was due to their own actions, Dunfermline have not been robbed of a 250,000 payday against Celtic. That Celtic, and not Morton, await Stenhousemuir in the next round, obviously relies on Tony Mowbray's side winning, and even then they must be sure to avoid the type of administrative oversight which has sent Dunfermline reeling.

Indeed, if some good has emerged from this whole sorry episode it is that clubs will pay extra attention to correspondence from the SFA prior to games. Dunfermline's fall-guy status has to be regretted, especially given their contribution to the Scottish Cup in the decade just gone. But the issue is as black and white as the stripes on the proud club's jersey. It's not a romantic conclusion, granted. But it is the correct one.

Gorgie hot seat an obvious last post for Jefferies

CSABA Laszlo has done remarkably well in difficult circumstances at Hearts, and deserves to remain in place after 19 months of genial monologues that pass for press briefings.

But one cannot escape the feeling he may have tempted fate with his salute to Vladimir Romanov on Thursday. Laszlo thanked the Hearts owner for having preserved him while all around chaos reigned. Two clubs in the Scottish Premier League are still operating without a permanent manager, with Kilmarnock having quickly rectified matters following Jim Jefferies' departure.

It is something when the man in charge at Tynecastle is able to shake his head at the comings and goings elsewhere, and mutter something about its 'craziness'. Laszlo may yet pay for emitting the vibes of a man getting rather too comfortable for his paymaster's liking. The current upsurge in Hearts' form means little when you think of how George Burley vacated the premises with Hearts sitting on top of the league. Laszlo remains as under threat as any Hearts manager who has operated under the present regime, and should the Hungarian reap what every Hearts manager must fear is his destiny, then it's tempting to imagine an emotional return to Gorgie for Jefferies.

Even an eight-year association with Kilmarnock has not been able to divest him of his maroon connections.

Jefferies desires one further major challenge before he settles into contented retirement in the Borders, and Hearts would be the perfect fit for someone who has excelled wherever he has gone.

Even his time at troubled Bradford City must be deemed a success as he struggled to cope with the interference of his chairman Geoffrey Richmond. Lee Sharpe expressed regret that he did not stick around to work with Jefferies, while agent Dennis Roach once claimed the Scot deserved a medal for stripping 10 million off the Yorkshire club's then hugely inflated wage-bill. Still only 59, Jefferies is wasted on the golf course.