John McLaughlan is confident the Dunfermline players will ‘stand up and be counted’ against Falkirk – despite being left in ‘shock’ by the sacking of boss James McPake.
McPake was axed on Monday after last weekend’s 2-0 defeat to Morton had left the team languishing in second-bottom spot in the Championship.
McLaughlan, the Pars’ reserves and U/18s manager, was asked to step into the breach in the interim as the East End Park hierarchy hunt for McPake’s successor.
The former Celtic, Hearts and Livingston youth coach has not been asked to carry out any first-team duties beyond the visit of Falkirk for a crunch televised clash on Friday night.
But he is convinced the Fifers players will be as ready as possible for the visit of their bitter rivals after urging them to turn in a performance befitting of such an important encounter.
“I was with James and we spoke together as a group after it [the sacking] happened,” said McLaughlan.
“And then James said to me, ‘look, they’ll probably ask you to take the training and prepare the team’.
“I wanted to make sure that he was happy with that. And he was.
“He said, ‘look, just go and do your best for them and prepare them’.
‘A lot of them were in shock’
“And then I sat in at the meeting when he met the players afterwards.
“When James spoke to them, they were obviously flat and a lot of them were in shock.
“Part of the training [afterwards] was just to get them out, get them going and try to think about football.
“So, we did an hour and a half and they trained away just as normal.
“On Tuesday, I spoke to them and their attitude was spot on. It was really good. They trained well and they’ve trained really well this morning [Thursday].
“So, they’re ready and hopefully they’re focused.”
McLaughlan, who coached McPake as a youth at Livingston, has had only three training sessions to put his ideas across.
But, whilst he still hopes for changes to be evident against Falkirk, he insists the onus will be on the players to ensure the Dunfermline fans witness a performance of which they can be proud.
“It’s an exciting game in terms of the rivalry, and obviously they don’t need any motivation,” he said of the Pars players.
Nervousness
“There’ll be a nervousness, in terms of the game and the occasion. But they’ve got to approach that in the right way.
“I think they’ll be ready for that.
“We’ve just been focusing on our strengths and how we’re going to play. I’ve relayed that to the players and it’s down to them now.
“We’ve prepared them and as soon as they cross that white line, then they’ve got to take that responsibility and get the fans onside, first and foremost.
“And put in a performance, and put in a real collective performance, individually and as a team.
“The club deserve that, in terms of the opposition. We’ll respect them. But at the end of the day, we want to go and win the game and send our fans home happy.”
David Wotherspoon is suspended following his costly red card in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Morton and striker Craig Wighton is still recovering from a knee procedure.
“Ultimately, where they are in the league is down to the players that’s in that squad,” McLaughlan continued. “And they have to stand up and be counted for this football club on Friday night and for these fans.
“And let’s start getting us moved up the table.”
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