Dunfermline midfielder Josh Falkingham feels getting through to play Rangers in the last 16 of the Scottish Cup will go some way to paying back the fans.
Jim Jefferies’ side will head to Ibrox in February for a lucrative fifth-round clash with the Light Blues, thanks to their replay win over Ayr United at East End Park in midweek.
Falkingham is delighted to have given the faithful, those who helped save the Pars, something to look forward to.
“It has been a massive year for the club and we are delighted for everyone involved, including the fans,” he said.
“We have had to do it on the pitch as players but the supporters have done a lot off the pitch too.
“It is nice to think that this tie is some reward for them. Hopefully, we will make a good bit of money and, even more than that, give a good account of ourselves.
“We felt the result last month at Ibrox was a bit unjust because we thought we deserved something out of the game so we will be going out there with our heads held high and believe we can get a result.
“It is a win-win tie for us. No one is expecting us to do anything but we will go there with a winning mentality and believe we can beat them.
“There is not much between the sides and, although Rangers have been on a brilliant run, I think we can use the underdog status to our advantage. We will look to get in their faces again. That was the same philosophy we had at Ibrox.
“We will always make sure we apply ourselves and we did that last time. We might be a bunch of young boys but we showed we can compete.”
Falkingham admitted the Pars were under pressure going into the game against Ayr.
They were well aware of just how much was at stake financially and there were some jitters towards the end of the match, as the midfielder conceded.
“There were nerves there,” he said. “You could see that in the last 15 minutes or so on Wednesday but you will sometimes get that with a young side. However, we dug deep and that speaks volumes for the maturity that some of these boys are developing.
“Lesser teams with young players could have crumbled, especially against some of the experienced boys in the Ayr side like Kevin Kyle, who have been there or thereabouts.
“But our boys have grown up quickly.”