Austin McCann may be Dunfermline club captain, but the defender knows that won’t afford him any special treatment when it comes to the business of nailing down a place for the start of the SPL.
Manager Jim McIntyre recruited another left-back in the summer Paddy Boyle, from Partick Thistle and McCann knows all positions are up for grabs.
The former Hearts and Airdrie man said, “The manager’s made some good additions to the squad and I’m sure he’ll have us well prepared for what’s in store for us.
“It will be the same all over the pitch from goalkeeper to the strikers. Everybody will have to be on the top of their game to get a place in the team. That’s the way the manager wants it, and anybody who gets into the starting 11 will deserve their place.
“It doesn’t make a difference if you’re captain. This is the SPL and you need as big a squad as you can get.
“The signings have been spread across a lot of positions and we’ll have competition across the pitch.
“If you look at clubs like Man City you can expect to have another three people competing for your position. It makes you play better and raise your game. If we want to stay in the division that’s what we have to do.”
The first chance to stake a claim for McCann and his East End Park team-mates comes at Livingston on Saturday in a friendly.
He said, “I don’t think anybody will play 90 minutes on Saturday. The manager will look to involve a lot of the boys to build our match fitness.
“We’ve got over 20 players training at the moment, so that won’t be easy. But I’m sure that by the time all our pre-season matches have been played we’ll be ready.”
It’s been a gruelling programme McIntyre has put them through so far, but McCann reported they can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“We had a hard first week and now we’ve started to introduce the ball, which has been a relief! It’s been tough, and nobody likes it, but that’s what you need to do.”