Self-belief is sweeping through Dunfermline as they target the win that will lift them off the bottom of the SPL.
That is the declaration from defender Kevin Rutkiewicz ahead of tonight’s trip to Motherwell.
Victory over the Steelmen would move the Pars out of the basement and above Hibs, elevating this fixture into the ‘crucial’ category even with so much of the season to go. They go into the match at Fir Park on a high, having thumped three goals past Kilmarnock without reply at the weekend.
That result, Rutkiewicz revealed, has done wonders for morale and the Fifers are in fine fettle as they bid to face a Well team who have, like them, struggled to win at home.
”The game at Kilmarnock was probably the best team performance (of the season),” said Rutkiewicz. ”If we can keep hitting those standards we will give ourselves a chance in every game. It is strange how 90 minutes can almost swing an entire season.
”The fans are all of a sudden getting noisier and there is more belief. We have continued to believe within our own four walls that we can do it and there is no bigger incentive because a win at Motherwell can take us off the bottom of the table.
”Other teams have bigger agendas, like Europe and league titles. However, our agenda is survival and we can take a massive step in the right direction at Fir Park.”
Rutkiewicz has taken note of how Well have toiled on their own patch. Indeed, their last league win there came back on September 24 when Aberdeen were beaten 1-0.
”If it goes by the form book we are in with a chance because Motherwell don’t have a great home record but you can’t read too much into these things,” said Rutkiewicz. ”Obviously, we have struggled at home but it is good that we are on a run of three away games.
”That probably lifts the pressure a wee bit because we don’t feel the need to take the game to teams, which we are probably not strong enough to do at times. Motherwell are a good side going for Europe and that’s the gap at the moment. So it will be a massive result if we get anything.”
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The consensus certainly beyond the environs of East End Park seems to be that the relegation battle is a two-way slog between the Pars and Hibs. Rutkiewicz, though, expressed a desire to bring others into the mix.
”Just now it seems to be Dunfermline and Hibs but I would like to get closer to the pack and then we will stand a better chance,” he said. ”It is still going to go down to the wire but it would be nice to drag one or two other teams into it.
“We are not looking too far up the table at the minute, though, and my immediate concern is another clean sheet and another victory. In fact, a worst-case scenario at Fir Park would be a 0-0.”
”We are not looking beyond catching Hibs at the minute. There is a big gap between them and the next team up, so we want to climb above them before we think beyond that and worry about reeling in the other teams.”
So what did transform the Pars from Scottish Cup losers to Inverness last midweek to comfortable victors at Kilmarnock just a few days later? Could it have been down to the inclusion of new signing Mark Kerr in midfield, a confident Iain Turner in goal and Rutkiewicz himself bedding in after a long time out injured?
Rutkiewicz replied: ”The cup defeat was financially a huge blow for the club but, with new signings and boys coming back from injury, we have been galvanised.”
Personally, he is relishing his return to the first team, saying: ”It is always an honour and a challenge for me to play in the Premier League as I am maximising my own ability. It is great to be able to contribute after missing the first half of the season.”
Manager Jim McIntyre wants his players to turn their delight from Kilmarnock into desire to win at Motherwell.
”It (the victory) has been a long time coming and it’s been a long time since any of us felt like we did,” he said. ”You want to take those feelings and use them.”
Paul Burns (dead leg) is a doubt and the Fifers will again be without the injured Paul Gallacher, Austin McCann, Nick Phinn and Steven Bell.
Motherwell manager Stuart McCall has no fresh injury worries.