John McLaughlan has heaped praise on the Dunfermline players for the way they have coped with uncertainty surrounding the club’s managerial vacancy.
McLaughlan stepped in as interim head coach following the sacking of James McPake and Dave Mackay three weeks ago.
With negotiations designed to bring in Kelty Hearts boss Michael Tidser dragging on, the youth coach admits he has tried to ‘shield’ the Pars squad from the hunt for a replacement.
But, with a dramatic 3-3 draw with Falkirk followed by a 4-1 hammering of Partick Thistle, McLaughlan has admiration for the way the Fifers have shrugged off their spell without a permanent manager.
“I’ve been trying to kind of shield them from that and trying to say to them, ‘look, we’ll just take each game on its merit’,” he commented ahead of Tuesday’s rearranged visit of Ayr United.
“And that’s all I can do as a coach, is to try and prepare them.
“You just hope they can put it all together against Ayr United and keep this run going. And make it a good start to 2025.
“They’ve been first-class, in terms of their application and their attitude. And all the credit’s to them for the way they’ve applied themselves.
“They’re a good group and they’ve been very good to work with, and I just hope we can keep that going and we can compete in the next two matches.”
McLaughlan kept ‘up to speed’
Asked for any latest developments in his own situation, McLaughlan added: “David Cook [chairman and CEO] has been keeping me up to speed with what’s happening.
“And I’ve just been focusing on the training.
“It’s day to day for myself. And, whatever the club’s asked me to do, I’ve carried that out to the best of my ability.
“It’s just a matter of waiting to see when we can get this deal [for Tidser] done and over the line.”
Given the results, including a first away win of the season in the league, McLaughlan has himself won plaudits for the way he has steered Dunfermline to two positive performances.
Albeit they will have played two more games, a victory over Ayr would take the Pars over Hamilton Accies into eighth and away from the dreaded relegation play-off spot.
“That’s what results do,” said McLaughlan when asked about confidence being boosted. “It should galvanise everyone, because it’s three top teams – it’s Falkirk, Partick and Ayr United.
“So, that should give them every confidence to go in and go toe-to-toe with them.
“And that’s what I’m hoping, that it is a very open game and we can go and concentrate on our own game and see where it takes us.”
Conversation