James McPake admits it did not take him long to find out just how big Dunfermline’s rivalry with Falkirk really is.
And he hopes the Pars’ experience of the mouth-watering fixture can help them in the latest encounter between the sworn enemies.
The Fifers have not lost at the Falkirk Stadium on their last six visits and are likely to include seven or eight players in their starting line-up who earned a draw on their last trip over the Forth.
“I think experience of the game certainly does help,” said McPake, who got his first taste in his maiden season two years ago.
“It is a fantastic game. When I first came here, it was my first experience of it. I’d never been to a Dunfermline-Falkirk game, that I can recall anyway.
“I was taken aback a bit, just by the occasion surrounding it, for both sets of fans and just how big it was. I was quick to find out.
“We’ve been there and we’ve had good afternoons there.
“But they [Falkirk] came here and had a good afternoon [a 2-0 victory] at the start of the season.
‘There’s a lot on the line’
“As much as our club’s record has been really good over there, their record was perceived as poor coming here at the start of the season.
“And they came and turned it around.
“You just can’t hide from the fact that it’s a big game and that there’s a lot on the line for the two sets of supporters.”
Dunfermline will have recent signing Dapo Mebude and dependable forward Lewis McCann fit again after injuries.
That means the Pars will travel with the rarity of a fully-fit squad and with key players approaching top fitness after returning from lay-offs.
“Everywhere, we can make positive changes to impact a game, if we’re looking for that,” added McPake, whose side currently the joint-poorest scoring record in UK senior league football.
“Or if performance levels are down or whatever, you can give that a wee jag with the different profiles on the bench.
“I hate even classing it as a headache. I get when people say it’s a positive headache, although I don’t know if there is such a thing!
“But it’s certainly a lot more comforting than situations that I’ve had in the past.”
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