Kirk hopes to get Jefferies’ reign at Dunfermline off to winning start

Jefferies’ appointment as successor to Jim McIntyre, who left the Pars last Friday, was confirmed on Wednesday, giving the former Hearts manager little preparation time for this afternoon’s match with St Mirren at East End Park.

All the Pars players know what is at stake and Kirk knows first hand Jefferies will settle for nothing more than their best effort. Kirk, who was signed for Hearts from Glentoran by Jefferies in 1999, said on Dunfermline’s official website: “A new manager has come in and he has different demands and it is up to us to try and meet them. He demands a lot of the players and will give a lot back to the players as well.

“It was sad at the time when the old manager got sacked. I don’t think there was anybody in the changing room that disliked Jim McIntyre, but that’s football. We have a new manager in now and we have to give him everything we have for him and the club. A win on Saturday would be the icing on the cake and maybe give us the boost that we need to kick on.”

Dunfermline are four points behind Hibernian at the bottom of the table and the final eight games will determine their fate.

Kirk added: “It’s boiled down to eight cup finals and there are games that we need wins, we need points on board. They [St Mirren] are a very good side and we have played them twice this year and they have been tough.”

The Pars drew 0-0 with the Buddies in the first fixture of the season before losing 2-1 in Paisley in November.

St Mirren saw their top-six hopes end with last Saturday’s 3-0 defeat by St Johnstone leaving them too far outside the top half of the SPL with three matches to the split, while Hearts knocked them out of the Scottish Cup on Wednesday.

St Mirren have failed to win in ten SPL games since their Christmas Eve victory over Rangers to leave them in ninth place. Saints have never finished above the bottom three since returning to the SPL in 2006 and Steven Thompson is determined to end that statistic as they prepare for their final eight games.

The striker expects a “galvanised” Dunfermline side following Jefferies’ appointment and he has vowed to match their commitment.

“We’ve got our own agenda, we need to start picking up points,” he said. “We have been disappointing as far as wins are concerned and we need to address that. We will be up for it, there is no doubt about that. The cup is out the way but we really want to finish as high as possible. You might think that is our season over but it’s really not. It can still be a successful season for us and by finishing anything above ninth would be a successful season.

“It would be the highest St Mirren have finished in the last 25 years. That would make the season a success and we can build on that for next year, because next year, and I know we said it this year, we really do want to be a top-six team.”