James McPake is convinced Dunfermline Athletic are ready to hit the goals trail.
With just five goals from their first nine Championship games, the Pars are officially the UK’s lowest scorers in senior league football.
It is an unwanted record they share with English Premier League cracks Crystal Palace and McPake accepts it is a concern.
Saturday’s goalless draw against Morton was the fifth time in the opening quarter of fixtures they have drawn a blank.
However, McPake believes enough opportunities are being created to give cause for optimism.
“I certainly think we’re creating more chances, like on Saturday, and it’s about putting them away,” McPake admitted to Courier Sport.
“Ultimately, you can create as many as you want but you need them to go in.
“We created enough to be out of sight on Saturday. Unfortunately, we weren’t.
“We need to continue creating those chances. And if we do that then Chris Kane will score goals and Craig Wighton will score goals.
‘A lot of positives’ for the Pars
“Dapo Mebude will help and everyone knows Matty Todd can get us goals.
“There are a lot of positives but I do understand that the lack of goals is a concern. It’s as much a concern for me as it is for anyone.
“We’re now creating chances, we’re getting crosses into the box and we’re playing at a better tempo.
“The final piece is: we need to start putting the ball in the net.
“But we’re all confident that will happen. We’ll keep working away at it and we will score goals.”
McPake, whose side have lost just twice in their last eight matches, is backed by the statistics when he claims improvements have been made in recent weeks.
The Fifers have averaged 12 shots at goal in their last three league games. Earlier in the season, they managed just five against both Ayr United and Hamilton Accies.
“For me, the confidence of the group has picked up,” he added. “We had the poor cup run and the first couple of (league) games were poor.
‘We’ve been a lot better’, says McPake
“We weren’t creating chances or getting much control in a game.
“It was more of a concern earlier in the season when we were lucky if we were getting five shots on goal in certain games.
“I think over the last four or five games we’ve been a lot better in terms of performance level.
“But, ultimately, you need to put the ball in the net to win those games. That’s the final bit we’re looking for.”
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