Right from the start, it was clear the mentality at Dunfermline had changed.
James McPake was appointed in the summer after a disastrous Championship campaign that ended in relegation.
Before he was officially unveiled, one of his new players unwittingly caught the eye.
Matty Todd – unaware McPake was in the building or that he would be his next manager – was doing laps of East End Park, gaining respect before they even had a working relationship.
It was an early example of the hard work McPake expected from his players.
Hitting the ground running
During one of his first press conferences, the new Pars boss was asked about how he would treat the League Cup group stage.
McPake was emphatic: “It’s not preseason … the players will be well aware we don’t view it that way.”
Ultimately, the Pars failed to get out of their League Cup group, but it was by no means a disaster.
Across their friendly and preseason results, Dunfermline only lost over 90 minutes twice, both 1-0 to Premiership sides.
It maybe didn’t feel like it at the time but it was a sign of what was to come, as the Pars kicked off their League One campaign with a win and barely looked back.
Fast forward to last Saturday and Dunfermline were crowned champions after a 5-0 thrashing of Queen of the South.
They have lost just one of their 33 league matches so far and have set a new club record for clean sheets and another for consecutive games unbeaten at home.
Smart signings
McPake took largely the same set of players who were relegated and changed the culture, instilling a winning mentality – even off-field.
A couple of key summer signings, Kyle Benedictus and Chris Hamilton, were given the captaincy and vice-captaincy respectively.
Benedictus’ leadership qualities in particular were crucial to their success in what is a very young squad.
Those new recruits were astutely added to via the loan market – with a view to convincing those players to stay at KDM East End Park longer term.
The Pars manager vowed not to add players just to make up the numbers – evidenced by the failed pursuit of the likes of Robbie Crawford.
Rampant run of form
The team spirit among the Dunfermline players was clear from the off, as was their willingness to run through brick walls for their new manager.
Hard work was at the centre of everything they achieved this season and the Pars boss showed his knack for motivating his side for crunch fixtures.
This was on display in the 1-0 win at Falkirk in November, a match that also displayed McPake’s tactical flexibility.
Dunfermline lined up with five across midfield and allowed Falkirk possession and the home side had no idea how to respond.
The game was won from a set-piece, an area of weakness identified by assistant manager Dave Mackay.
The recent home win over Falkirk was the night the League One title was effectively sewn up, but the astonishing comeback at Airdrie in February was the day that dealt a massive psychological blow to Falkirk.
Falkirk didn’t play that weekend and after Airdrie went 3-0 up on 50 minutes, John McGlynn’s side must have been rubbing their hands.
By the time Nikolay Todorov scored the winner from the bench, they would have been wondering where the next Pars defeat was coming from.
A score of shutouts
Sir Alex Ferguson once said: “Attacks win you games, defences win you championships.”
While this has proved to be the case for Dunfermline it has been complimented by a strong attack.
Craig Wighton has scored 18 goals across the campaign, Lewis McCann has got better and better as the weeks have progressed and Todorov has been their supersub.
That’s not to mention the contributions from midfield from the likes of Todd and his many goal-of-the-season contenders.
Nothing like a bit of red hot Matty Todd content to get you through a Monday afternoon 🔥#cinchL1 | @officialdafc pic.twitter.com/9KFV3hQAbJ
— SPFL (@spfl) January 16, 2023
The clean sheets gave them the foundation and goalkeeper Mehemet rightly drew plaudits for their 20 league shoutouts, and counting, but the signing of Benedictus was key.
The former Raith Rovers defender played every minute in the league and his only wobble in form during February visibly emanated throughout the rest of the team.
That spell was short-lived and from March onwards the Pars have won five and drawn three from eight matches to secure their return to the Championship.
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