James McPake is adamant he is not ‘worried’ about the season ahead with Dunfermline, despite admitting the squad he has is ‘not big enough’.
The Pars boss was speaking after seeing his side defeated 2-0 at home by bitter rivals Falkirk.
A sixth-minute strike from Ross MacIver punctured the home side’s aspirations of extending a five-game winning run against the Bairns.
And Callumn Morrison ended any lingering hopes of a late comeback when he coolly converted an 87th-minute penalty.
The visitors carried the greater cutting edge in attack from kick-off and Dunfermline had plenty of effort and willing runners, but lacked quality when it mattered most.
The Fifers have added just Chris Kane, David Wotherspoon and Kieran Ngwenya, who missed out through injury, since last season – but lost ten players from their first-team squad.
Afterwards, McPake was asked if he was worried about the coming weeks and months after back-to-back Championship losses were added to three successive Premier Sports Cup defeats.
He said: “I’ve been in this league long enough and I know what it’s like being on a bad run in this league.
“But we’re two games into a season and I know what it’s like to turn a bad run round in this league. And I know what it feels like to get out of this league, the right way.
McPake: ‘Full belief in the players’
“I’ve been asked about the lack of resources, so I’ll comment on it.
“Is the squad big enough? No, it’s certainly not big enough. But am I worried about that group of players? No.
“I’ve got full belief in that group of players and what we’ve got for this league.
“Is it enough to go and get you challenging at the top? Probably not. That’s maybe where the resources part comes in.
“But it’s my job to work with those players day-in, day-out.
“And if I get told there’s other players available or the option to sign, that’s when I’ll look at that.
“But it’s certainly not something, two weeks into a season, where I’m worried about next May.
“Likewise, if we had won the two games with the squad we’ve got I wouldn’t be saying everything’s perfect and we can go and have a right go at getting to the Premiership.”
Dunfermline have been unsuccessfully seeking competition for goalkeeper Deniz Mehmet, but McPake is unsure if he will get the funds to strengthen his outfield options.
Chris Kane returned from injury and added impetus to the attack in the second-half.
No new players
But with six of the nine substitutes coming from the club’s under/18s squad, there were a lack of game-changing options available to the Pars.
“It’s the same answer as last week,” added McPake whilst praising his side’s efforts.
“I’m standing here and I’ve not got expectations, other than I expect the players to come back in next week and work really hard for me, which they have done.
“That group know that, that we’ll keep working with them and keep doing everything. And if they keep doing that then the fans will get behind them.
“It’s not being cheeky or trying to be smart, it’s just a question [about possible new signings] that I’m struggling to answer in any other way, other than saying, ‘no’.”
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