Michael Tidser is confident his signing spree is bearing fruit for Dunfermline.
The Pars boss has added seven fresh faces to his squad, with an eighth, Keith Bray, recruited and instantly loaned back to Inverness Caley Thistle.
All seven have played in recent weeks as Tidser has shaken up the side he inherited from predecessor James McPake.
After claiming he felt some players had been too ‘comfortable’ in being certain of their spots in the starting XI, Tidser is confident there is now far more competition for places.
And, with the likes of Kane Ritchie-Hosler, Chris Kane, Chris Hamilton and Dapo Mebude finding themselves out of the selection of late, Tidser is also satisfied he is seeing the right reaction from those overlooked.
“The reason we brought these boys in,” he explained, “was to, one, challenge them to go and play and, two, to make more competition so players don’t get comfortable.
“I’ve said it before, I think players were maybe comfortable here, knowing they’re going to play.
“When you get players coming in, you’ll start looking over your shoulder, your performance can then go up – and that’s what we’re trying to bring to the club.
Tidser: ‘It’s now a challenge for them’
“I think I have [seen the right reaction], because it’s easy to chuck it, isn’t it? It’s easy to throw the towel in. But in the long run that doesn’t get you anywhere.
“The ones who have probably played the majority of the season and haven’t been playing, it’s now a challenge for them to say, ‘okay, I know what I need to do to get in the team’.
“You’ve got a couple of options: You can down tools, but I’ll sniff through that straight away. Or you can work hard and try and get yourself back in, because football changes quickly.”
After a first clean sheet in the league since November in last weekend’s goalless draw with Livingston, Dunfermline host Queen’s Park on Saturday sitting in ninth in the table.
Facing a nerve-shredding relegation play-off, as things stand, the Pars have work to do to guarantee their Championship status for next season.
Hamilton Accies sit just one point ahead in eighth and Queen’s Park are six ahead in seventh, making Saturday’s match and Tuesday’s with Accies hugely important.
“The boys aren’t stupid,” he added. “They know the position we’re in. It is a big week coming up.
”I’m under no illusions. I know how difficult it’s going to be from now until the end of the season.
“But I’ve got full belief in the lads in there that we can climb that table, slowly but surely.”
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