Dunfermline skipper Callum Fordyce is convinced his second comeback of the season is going to be a lasting one.
The 24-year-old was sidelined for nearly a year with a horrific broken leg and dislocated ankle he sustained last season before returning to action in August.
But with a costly mistake against Hibs on his first appearance in 11 months, and then some below-par performances, the former Livingston stopper dropped out of the team for nearly two months.
He admits he had to regroup both psychologically and physically but, after three starts in a row – yielding two wins and a draw – he is determined he is back in the team to stay.
Speaking ahead of this afternoon’s visit of Morton, he said: “I’m feeling good.
“It’s great to be back involved and part of the team, and the results have been quite good.
“When I was playing earlier on in the season I never had the best of times, and mentally I had to go away and regroup.
“I had to do a wee bit extra training and work on my game, and it is benefiting me now.
“Maybe physically I wasn’t 100 per cent when I came back. I think I forgot myself how long I was actually out for.
“With what my injury was, you still need to keep on top of it all the time and after a couple of games I had a sit down and thought about things, and knew I had to go away and work on stuff.
“In the past three games I think I’ve been back to what I was like – and hopefully I’m back in the team to stay.”
Dunfermline dropped back down to second-bottom in the table with last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Ayr United and, with St Mirren now just six points behind, Fordyce admits the Pars desperately need victories.
He added: “Every game’s a must-win game.
“No matter where you are in the table you want to win every game.
“Morton are flying, so it’s going to be a tough game but we’ve got good boys in the dressing room and we believe we’re capable of winning every game.”
That was something almost managed last term when they coasted to the League One title but they have found things much harder this season in the second-tier.
However, after one defeat in their last five league games, Fordyce is adamant they have now settled into life in the Championship.
He went on: “Last season, we started the league really well and that continued right throughout the season.
“But we’ve moved up a league and into a Championship that is maybe even a harder league than the Premiership at the moment, because anybody can beat anybody and you don’t know what’s going to happen.
“We’re maybe starting to find our feet now in the league and we’re starting to pick up results, although we’ve not really been outclassed by any team.
“We’ve got quality in the squad, with boys who could play at a higher level and boys who have played at a higher level.
“And we’re starting to get a few results now and we feel we’re good enough to push up the league.”
