This is a must win match for us - regardless of what we're trying to do this season. Dunfermline are the newly promoted side and have struggled at times, so we have to be looking to win a home game against them. It should help put some space between us and the drop zone, while if we're serious about making the top six we really have to do the business against teams like Dunfermline - especially when we're facing them at home.
But despite their poor form, the Pars went into the international break on a high after beating Hibs and costing Colin Calderwood his job. It's not that difficult to win at Easter Road these days (we've managed it after all) but it was still an impressive achievement and gets them back on track in their bid to beat the drop. So while it's a game we've got to win, it's certainly not going to be an easy match.
The last time Dunfermline came to Paisley was not a happy time for Saints fans everywhere. On a live Monday night game on Setanta (remember them?) we lost 1-0 to a goal from Tam McManus (remember him?) and were plunged into serious relegation trouble. Any other result would have been fine, so of course we went and lost. On a personal note things were worse than me as I had to watch it in a pub in Kirkcudbright and I spilt my pint. Bad times and hopefully tomorrow we can begin to put that behind us as we bid to end a wait going back more than a decade for a win against Dunfermline.
Before the break we did very well against Hearts and probably should have won. As a result, it's hard to suggest too many changes - although Gary Teale can surely not continue up front alongside Steven Thompson. Jon McShane is fit again and could return, although playing Nigel Hasselbaink in the front two from the start is probably worth a punt as he isn't really doing it when he's coming on as a sub. Joe McKee is another option but one not likely to be deployed at any time.
The international break saw Kenny McLean getting heaped with praise after being named young player of the month for October and hopefully he'll continue in that vein tomorrow. McLean and Paul McGowan have both been linked with moves to the Championship but to get them they'll need to keep playing well, which will benefit us in the short term at least. After the Hearts game, Danny Lennon said it was a disgrace Graham Carey wasn't starting every week - a bit odd considering Lennon picks the team! From that we can assume Carey will start tomorrow, while a choice has to be made at rightback after David Barron's impressive display against the Jambos. Hugh Murray, Aaron Mooy and Darren McGregor are all still injured – although Shuggy did play in a bounce game during the week.
Dunfermline will see this as a game they have to take something from if they want to beat the drop. Despite our form, we're usually battling it out at the bottom come the end of the season and Pars boss Jim McIntyre probably saw games against us as a handy source of points before the season began. Worryingly for us, all of Dunfermline's league wins have been away from East End Park, meaning they'll see themselves with a chance tomorrow.
McIntyre was handed what appeared to be a vote of confidence during the Pars' poor form a wee while back, which seems a bit unfair to me. If you're just promoted, the target has to be to avoid relegation. If you do go down, you shouldn't sack your manager unless you've been absolutely hopeless and only scored 15-20 points. McIntyre has done well for Dunfermline over the past few years and it wouldn't be a major surprise if he landed himself a gig at a bigger club.
Tomorrow we will welcome back two of our former players - not including Gary Mason as he's suspended, or goalie Chris Smith as he'll probably be on the bench. I'm talking about Paul Gallacher and John Potter, who both swapped Paisley for Dunfermline in the summer. Gallacher did it out of choice as he had been offered a new contract and has since put in a string of fine displays, often keeping the score down when his team loses. He even won a player of the month award - helped partly by Potter, who gave him a couple of penalties to save. After a good first few years with the club, the defender's form dipped dramatically and he was used as a scapegoat for our poor performances. Things don't seem to have improved now he's back in Fife, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see him suddenly hit form and shut up his old supporters tomorrow afternoon. For those interested, he is 20/1 to score at any time – I've invested the princely sum of £5 in that inevitability!
A more realistic source of goals though is Andy Kirk. He seems to have been around for ever but is only 32, which may seem old but is younger than our own Gary Teale. Getting him a few years ago while still in the first division was a good move from McIntyre and the frontman has already banged in a few this season. That's probably just as well as the likes of Liam Buchanan and Andy Barrowman are either untried at this level or failed to set the heather alight when they had a chance earlier in their careers. In fairness, Barrowman has had injury problems this season - as have players like Steven Bell, Kevin Rutkiewicz and Joe Cardle.
Martin Hardie has also had injury problems. He seems to fulfil the Jody Morris role for Dunfermline, making the midfield tick despite getting on in years. He is also a real threat from set-pieces - Dunfermline's best chances when we played them earlier in the season were all from Hardie free-kicks and he scored a screamer against Inverness Caley Thistle a few weeks later. Quite simply, don't give them a free-kick within 30 yards of our goal because he will punish us - although if Dunfermline would like to give us one within that sort of distance so Graham Carey can bang it in that would be much appreciated!
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