Even at 20 years of age, Josh Edwards feels like a crack at the playoffs has been a long time coming.
He missed out by three points in 2019 when Airdrie failed to win four out of their final six fixtures, allowing Montrose to steal in and pinch fourth spot in League 1.
Recalling the 1-0 defeat against Stenhousemuir during that sequence of results prompts an almost visceral reaction from the Dunfermline defender.
“God, I remember that game against Stenny. What a shocking day,” he says. Even on a Zoom call, the grimace is obvious. “That brings back some shocking memories and hopefully there is not a repeat of that — because I was absolutely terrible!”
Mercifully for Edwards, occasions when he was ‘absolutely terrible’ were rare enough for the gifted full-back to land a move to Dunfermline that summer, only for his maiden campaign to be curtailed due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
The Pars were three points adrift of the playoff positions when the Championship was called, but those within the dressing room were steadfast in their belief that they would have claimed a place in the top four.
Edwards fully intends to make up for lost time this term and, should they join Raith Rovers and — in all likelihood — Dundee in the end-of-season shake-up, he sees nothing to fear.
Just like the Queens game, we are expected to win and we need to win. We’ll need to deal with that.
“I’ve never been a part of the playoffs and I would love to make it there,” he continued. “I know all the boys are properly up for it. I really want to be a part of it and, ultimately, something even more.
“Once you get to the playoffs, anything can happen. It depends who we play. In the games we have had against Dundee, we’ve dominated for 45 minutes, then they dominate for 45 minutes. Then the most recent game was a total stalemate.
“And if we get Raith, then one game we’ve ripped them apart and the other game they ripped us apart!
“It’s all up in the air when you get to the playoffs and if we get there we’ll be determined to give a good account of ourselves.
“If we play to the top of our game, we are definitely capable of beating Raith or Dundee.”
That renewed confidence from the East End Park camp speaks to the importance of last weekend’s 3-1 victory against Queen of the South; a first win in seven matches, achieved with some much-needed panache.
The result was achieved against a backdrop of suffocating pressure, with a stubborn, dangerous opponent to overcome.
It will be deja vu on both counts when Arbroath arrive on the Halbeath Road today.
“Last week was vital,” added Edwards. “We’ve been knocking at the door, playing some decent stuff in parts — so to finally get the win was nice. It’s a weight lifted off our shoulders.
“If Queens had beaten us, they would have gone above us and it would have been pretty much the end of our season. It puts us right back in the playoff hunt.
“We all knew going into the game last week that it was going to be tough and we had to win. There was an expectation on us to win, and the boys had to deal with that. We went out and proved that we can handle that pressure.
“The circumstances are almost identical to what they were last Saturday. Just like the Queens game, we are expected to win and we need to win. We’ll need to deal with that again and hopefully beat a really tough Arbroath side.”
