Dunfermline boss Jim Jefferies has shrugged off his side being labelled title favourites by the bookies although the manager thinks Saturday’s game against Partick will give him a good indication of what to expect this season.
Jefferies believes the Jags will be one of the main promotion contenders this term but hopes his players can justify the short odds placed on the Pars to bounce straight back into the SPL when the two teams meet at East End.
”We’re one of the favourites, although in my eyes we’re not but that’s not saying we’re going to settle for anything less than being up there and giving it a go,” he told Courier Sport.
”We’re title favourites because it’s Dunfermline, and that’s understandable. I’ve said to the players that that’s something they are going to have to accept and they will have take on that mantle.
”You’ll be the target for every team in the league. Everybody will raise their game against you and you’ve got to be prepared for that.
”But I’ve not brought players here to be in the middle of the league. I’ve brought them here to be up there challenging. We don’t fear anybody but we just have to make sure we do the right things.”
Jefferies was happy with his side’s ”clinical” finishing against Cowdenbeath last weekend and believes the team is moving in the right direction.
He explained: ”It will take time Partick and Falkirk have been similar to us. They have been getting new sides together, bringing in young boys and maybe one or two players from lower divisions, and we’re doing the same.
”They’ve been doing that for a couple of years now and they’ve got a start on us, but hopefully maybe we can start a bit quicker than they did.
”That’s the long-term aim, put in a good challenge for the league, and I think Saturday will be a big indicator.
”It won’t win or decide anything but it will give an indication for me and for the players themselves to show that they are good enough because Partick and Falkirk will be up there with one or two others.”
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Thistle visit East End Park on the back of their 3-1 victory over Falkirk, and Jefferies admits it will be a stern test of his side’s credentials.
”No disrespect to Cowdenbeath it was a tough game but there will be tougher games ahead,” he continued. ”What’s important on Saturday is showing how we’ve shaped up.
”Maybe this game five or six games in might have been a little bit different, but we’ve dealt with the first game, it was a great result, and it gives us a big boost in confidence.
”Put it this way if we’re going in against Partick and we had lost last week, it would have been a dent to the players’ confidence. It would have made us a little bit edgy and might have put the pressure on us.
”Now we can go and say ‘we’ll show you if we’re going to be up there’, because a good marker to that would be winning the game on Saturday. If we can go out and do that, we just might because Partick will definitely be one of the contenders along with three or four others.”
The Pars boss is still having a look at a number of trialists, some of whom featured in a 4-1 closed doors win over Livingston in midweek, although he wouldn’t be drawn on signing targets.
However, the club have been linked with possible loan moves for St Johnstone midfielder Kevin Moon and teenage striker Stevie May, although Jefferies said there was no deal on that front as yet.
”We inquired at the start of the season but St Johnstone wanted to keep them, so we’ve been concentrating on getting a central defender in,” he noted. ”If that position changed, St Johnstone said they would get back to us but that hasn’t happened.
”We’re still a long way from the finished article but we’re gelling well, we’re improving, the spirit is good and they are a great bunch to work with, so hopefully that will stand us in good stead.”
Striker Ryan Wallace will almost certainly miss the match after aggravating a hamstring injury in that midweek game, although Joe Cardle and Alex Whittle trained on Thursday and could feature.