Tuesday night’s Scottish Cup fourth-round replay between Dunfermline and Montrose at East End Park has been called off.
Pars manager Jim McIntyre was not optimistic ahead of a 9.30am pitch inspection.
He said, “We’ve got three to four inches of snow on the pitch, and even if it thaws the pitch would probably flood.”
When the tie does go ahead, McIntyre made it clear where he wants to see an improvement from Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Links Park.
He said, “Putting the ball in the back of the net.
“I thought we dominated the first match and should have finished it off which was frustrating.”
He added, “Credit to Montrose for fighting to the end and getting their equaliser, but I also want to see us keeping our concentration at the back.”
The teams will know who awaits the winner by the time they play, as the fifth-round draw takes place on Tuesday afternoon.
Even if it’s one of the Old Firm, McIntyre won’t let his players lose their focus on the job at hand.Focus neededHe said, “As soon as you start looking further ahead than your next match you get yourself in trouble.
“You only have to look at the fourth-round results to see you can’t take anything for granted Montrose are the only team we’re concentrating on.”
There was also good news from the Pars’ training session at Hamilton on Monday, where Willie Gibson was able to join in with the rest of the squad for the first time since being hospitalised with a virus that was initially feared to be meningitis.
Montrose chairman Derek Sim said Dunfermline officials had informed him they feared the worst, after heavy snowfall hit the town at the weekend.
He said, “On Saturday they seemed to think it would be very doubtful that the game would go ahead.
“There is a problem with the undersoil heating, so we are really in a position where we have to leave it to the elements.”
Apart from Saturday’s encounter it has been more than 50 years since the two clubs were matched up in the Scottish Cup, and this will be the Angus side’s first visit to Dunfermline in the competition.
For details about tickets and the rescheduled tie, call the ticket office on 01383 745909 or email tickets@dafc.co.uk.