McIntyre warns Dunfermline not to drop their standards

jim McIntyre says all the pressure to be on his Dunfermline side when they face East Fife in the Scottish Communities League Cup and has warned his players to respect their Second Division opponents.

Dunfermline travel to face John Robertson’s side in fine form thanks to an impressive SPL win over Dundee United at the weekend. They have enjoyed an encouraging unbeaten return to the top-flight so far and McIntyre knows they will be expected to progress tonight.

He said: “There is pressure in every game of football so that won’t make any difference. We are in confident mood and we are looking forward to the game. We are playing well but we’ve got to make sure we approach the game properly.

“People will be expecting us to win this game but it’s important when you play lower league sides that you do the right things and approach it in the right manner.”

With local rivalry adding extra spice to this tie, McIntyre added: “It’s a win-win game for them. They’ll be looking to cause an upset and we have got to make sure that we have prepared properly to get ourselves into the next round.

“East Fife, apart from Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Arbroath, have been doing quite well. It’s also a derby, which adds to the occasion so it’s going to be a very difficult game.”

Retaining their SPL status is the priority for Dunfermline this season and McIntyre refused to be drawn on how far his side can progress in the cup. He said: “Any provincial side is looking to have a cup run but when you start talking about cup runs, that’s when you start to fall flat on your face. You’ve got to be respectful of the team you are playing against. All we are looking at is trying to get ourselves into the next round.”

Meanwhile, Robertson has asked the available members of his squad to stand up and be counted. Goalkeeper Mark Ridgers, defenders Andrew Cook and David White along with midfielder David Muir and strikers Robert Ogleby and Ryan Wallace were all unavailable against Arbroath and fitness tests will determine if Ogleby and Wallace can feature tonight.

Robertson’s assistant manager, 45-year-old Gordon Durie, was on the bench at the weekend as a trialist, but cannot feature in this game unless the club register him as a player ahead of kick-off.

Robertson said: “We will just have to get on with things. We have a small squad and as a result every player should be ready for first team action at any time. The Dunfermline game is an opportunity for players to impress against a SPL side.”