Jason Thomson is convinced Michael Tidser will be ‘a good fit’ as the next Dunfermline manager.
The Pars were given permission to hold talks with the Kelty Hearts player-boss over the weekend and a deal looks set to be finalised this week ahead of the trip to face Partick Thistle.
At just 34, Tidser is perhaps a bold and surprise choice to replace the sacked James McPake as boss at East End Park.
But Thomson, who played alongside Tidser and then under him last season at Kelty after joining from Arbroath, believes it will prove the right one.
“I’m personally delighted for him,” said Thomson, who spent the first half of the 2011/12 season on loan at Dunfermline from Hearts.
“He’s always shown the qualities of wanting to go and be a manager.
“In management sense, he’s not been one for a long time, just a season and a half. But he’s grasped it.
“If you think back to a season and a half ago, when he took the Kelty job, there probably was a bit of surprise and he had to learn quickly there.
“But he didn’t just learn quickly, he did well.
‘High standards’
“He’s young. It’s a huge opportunity but, at the same time, he’ll not just be going there as an opportunity, he’ll be going in to do well.
“One thing I’ll say about him as a manager is he’s got high standards – on and off the park. He likes things done right.
“And he’s got his own beliefs and thoughts. Like most managers these days do, he likes to get the ball down and play.
“Anyone who has seen any Kelty games knows that they will do that.
“So, I think it’ll be a good fit. As much as Dunfermline will be good for Tids, I think it’ll be good for the club.”
Tidser will be taking over a side currently sitting second-bottom in the Championship and with work to do to avoid a relegation play-off scrap at the end of the season.
“Dunfermline will have a young, hungry manager who has played in the leagues and knows the players,” added Thomson, who hung up his boots in the summer aged 36.
“You just hope he goes and gets time – like every manager, I guess.
“But especially at Dunfermline, because they’re struggling. They’re second bottom of the league.
‘Expectations’
“He’ll certainly go in and put demands on the players. At the end of the day, the players are a big part of the reason why they’re sitting second bottom.
“I’m sure that’ll be the remit when it goes in: ‘Keep us in the league’. It’ll be as straightforward as that.
“Dunfermline are a big club, in the grand scheme of things. So there are expectations.
“Fans will be wanting results really quickly, so he’ll be hoping to make sure he hits the ground running.”
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