East Fife caretaker boss Dougie Anderson praised his players for giving him a winning send-off after they inflicted a fifth consecutive defeat on Brechin City, deservedly winning by 1-0 at Glebe Park.
Anderson will join former Bayview manager Gary Naysmith at Queen of the South next week with former Dundee boss Barry Smith expected to take over.
Anderson was fulsome in his praise for the Fifers’ squad.
“I thought that the boys were excellent today,” he said.
“On a heavy pitch, they controlled the game and their effort and application was different class.
“They had to hang on a bit towards the end when we went down to 10 men but they showed great character and desire and I’m delighted for them.”
He added: “The boys showed what they’re capable of tonight and I’m sure that they can kick on from here.”
The only goal of the game came after 10 minutes when Scott Robinson collected a pass from Jordan Austin to drill a low drive well beyond the reach of Brechin keeper Graeme Smith.
Brechin pushed forward after the break in an effort to find the equaliser but the Fifers’ defence were giving absolutely nothing away and even when they went down to 10 men in the 77th minute when Robinson was dismissed after a second yellow card they dug deep to ensure a vital three points.
Brechin defender Elliot Ford was red carded deep into injury time after a rash challenge on East Fife sub Kevin O’Hara.
Brechin boss Darren Dods said: “East Fife dominated for most of the first half when we struggled to get any passes going.
“We came more into the match after the break and when East Fife had a man sent off that changed things and we had them camped in for the final 10 minutes when we put a lot of pressure on their defence, but we just couldn’t find the equaliser.”
He added: “The players have to learn that you can’t hand the initiative to your opponents early on and then expect to come back in the second half.
“However, we’ll continue to work hard, knuckle down and try to get some of our injured players back and perhaps try and add a couple more to change things around.”