James McPake has confessed he is ‘worried’ after Dunfermline cancelled training on Thursday in a bid to stop a bug spreading ahead of the visit of Partick Thistle.
But the Pars boss insists he will not use the illness outbreak as an excuse if his squad is depleted for the Championship clash.
Players have complained of a number of different ailments this week, with members of the backroom team and wider club staff also falling ill.
McPake took the decision to call off the ‘match-day minus two’ session to give some the time to recover and others the chance to avoid catching any virus.
McPake explained: “There has been a bit of sickness in the staff, hence the reason all the staff are off, only me and Dave [Mackay, assistant] are here.
“There is obviously something going about the building but that will certainly not be an excuse.
“If we have five or six sick overnight then it’s tough but there were only two or three in before we got the message out this morning [that training was cancelled] and they were swiftly told to go home.
“Only me and Dave are in, so if the two of us gets it we will do our best to be there on Saturday, and if one of us gets it then it’s not a problem.
“To be fair, we are worried, like when you have injuries. But, as much as I worry, I will certainly never use it as an excuse.
‘DAFC fans expect to win’
“If there are five or six missing, people will know that it is because of this, but we have had five or six missing in certain games and never used it as an excuse and we never will.
“As long as we have 11 to go on the pitch then we expect a performance and our fans will expect us to win the game regardless of who that 11 is.”
The Fifers have been badly affected by injury this season, but have had better news this week as illness has struck.
Skipper Kyle Benedictus and fellow defenders Rhys Breen and Sam Fisher have all trained fully with the squad and are available for selection against Thistle.
Both Benedictus and Breen were injured in the 1-0 defeat to Raith Rovers in the league on October 28.
Benedictus lasted 45 minutes of his return from a broken bone in his foot before picking up a thigh issue, whilst Breen suffered a hamstring problem.
Fisher damaged his ankle in the 3-0 victory over Arbroath on November 28.
McPake added: “Breeny has been training, Bene has been training, Fisher has been training.
“That’s been good, a nice wee lift for everybody, in terms of seeing your team-mates back on the pitch.
“Just as is normal, when you get good players back, the standard of training just soars. It is good.
“All are available but obviously there are different levels to that in terms of the load and the time out.”
