Michael Tidser’s presence at Dunfermline’s defeat to Ayr United was an indication he could finally be appointed as the club’s new manager.
Officially, talks between the Pars and Kelty Hearts are still on-going. But there appears a growing possibility now that the 34-year-old could be in place before Saturday’s Scottish Cup clash with Stenhousemuir.
Should compensation negotiations be concluded in the next couple of days, the former Morton midfielder will be taking over a team that has earned four points from three tough game since James McPake was sacked two days before Christmas.
But what will the manager-in-waiting have learned from running the rule over the Fifers as they went down to a 2-0 loss to Ayr?
Attacking intent
One of the complaints from supporters during the latter days of McPake’s reign was his apparent defensive mindset.
No matter the Pars had the fourth best Expected Goals rate in the Championship, the perception was the football was too safe and predictable.
With seven goals – albeit two penalties – in his first two games in charge as caretaker boss, John McLaughlan seem to tease out a more forward-thinking philosophy.
That continued in the first-half against Ayr – but this time without the final product.
There was plenty of energy and zip to the Fifers’ play, but at times it was a bit too harum-scarum to produce clear-cut chances.
In starters Chris Kane, Lewis McCann, Matty Todd and Kane Ritchie-Hosler, Dunfermline had plenty of forward-thinking players, whilst Ewan Otoo burst forward to create one of the best opportunities against Ayr.
But, given what we know about Tidser’s well-drilled Kelty Hearts team, the challenge will be to harness that attacking intent in a more effective way.
Championship’s fine margins
Dunfermline bossed the first-half against Ayr, who took 43 minutes to register an – off-target – attempt at goal.
The Pars were pretty much camped in their opponents’ territory for the whole of the opening period.
And, although the start to the second-half was more even, it had the feel of something of a smash-and-grab affair when Ayr notched the opening goal after an hour.
By the end, that notion had subsided as the Honest Men took confidence from the breakthrough and finished as the better side.
Dunfermline needed to take advantage of their early dominance, but they were made to pay for not finding the net when on top.
That is a familiar theme in a Championship where, perhaps Airdrie aside at the moment, it lives up to the cliché that everyone can beat everyone else.
Lots of games come down to fine margins.
Of the Pars’ 12 league defeats this season, seven have been by just a single goal – and the others by no more than two.
It does not take much for a positive performance to turn into a negative result – and vice versa.
The Fifers will be hopeful a new manager will bring the fresh ideas that can ensure they finish on the right side of those tight encounters.
Fitness worries
Dunfermline fielded the rarity of an unchanged line-up for the visit of Ayr.
That was no surprise after a hugely impressive 4-1 hammering of Partick Thistle at Firhill.
In fact, McLaughlan altered his starting XI just once over his three games in charge, with Kane Ritchie-Hosler coming in for Josh Cooper against Thistle.
However, he had to make a couple of enforced changes as the Ayr match progressed. Kieran Ngwenya limped off early in the second-half and Chris Kane followed him shortly after.
The alterations disrupted the Pars, with Ewan Otoo moving to left-back and Dapo Mebude replacing him in midfield, whilst youngster Taylor Sutherland was Kane’s substitute in attack as Josh Cooper also took the place of Todd.
It was clear the Fifers missed Ngwenya and Kane, as well as Otoo’s influence at the heart of the pitch.
The challenge for the new manager will be to ensure, with either recruitment or back-up game-plans, that any future injuries can be covered more seamlessly.
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