East Fife will head into the 2010/11 second division campaign hoping to improve on last season”s seventh-place finish, with a pre-season likely to give them confidence going into this term.
Stevie Crawford’s men hit the net 15 times in just four friendlies over the summer and gained a psychological boost in defeating promotion contenders Brechin City in the first round of the Alba Challenge Cup.
Despite Saturday’s 4-1 Co-operative Insurance Cup defeat to Raith Rovers, the Fifers are determined to compete near the top of the second division table, having been hampered by a lack of consistency and injuries last season.
While survival will again be the priority for the Methil club, Crawford admits his focus is on the top half of the table in his second year at the helm-particularly the play-off spots, which the Bayview support will hope to reach.
Crawford said, “If we can stay free from injuries then we have every chance of doing better than last season.
“I believe that it’s a tougher league this year but on our day, if we can show the right commitment and attitude, then I’m confident that we can finish higher than we did last season.”
He added, “We have to keep up our consistency levels but on our day we can give anybody a game.”
Transfer-wise it has been a hectic summer on the Fife coast, with wholesale changes made to the playing staff.
Talismanic striker Paul McManus has gone to Maltese side Hibernians, with former Raith striker Steve Hislop being drafted in to replace him.New facesOther new faces include midfielder Robert Sloan, defender Scott Durie and young forward Lee Bryce in a squad that should strike a fine balance between youth and experience.
Midfielder Paul Tansey and Craig Johnstone will hope to make a smooth transition from the amateur game, while the Fifers have also recruited defender Michael Deland on loan from Hearts, forward Kurtis Byrne on loan from Hibs, brought back Stewart Murdoch on loan from Falkirk and signed Michael Dick from Edinburgh University.
East Fife will kick off against Airdrie United at home on Saturday and Crawford wants his side to put Saturday’s first-half performance firmly behind them.
The manager said, “There are things we need to work on because if we go about our business as we did in the first half on Saturday we could be on the back end of a few doings this season.
“They say you learn more in defeat we’ve had people patting us on the back saying we’re trying to play attractive football but you need to add a bit of grit and determination to that.”