Tommy Fogarty hopes to make the most of Birmingham City’s promotion next season – but insists he is fully focused on Dunfermline’s current relegation battle first.
The defender is on a season-long loan from the Blues and revelled in his parent club clinching their return to the English Championship in midweek.
With another year left on his contract in the Midlands, the 20-year-old would love to be involved at first-team level with the St Andrew’s outfit.
But, having just got back into the Dunfermline side under Neil Lennon, there is no sense the Northern Ireland U/21 cap has anything else on his mind other than helping secure the Pars’ Championship safety.
“Promotion is not a surprise for Birmingham, it was coming,” said Fogarty ahead of Dunfermline’s trip to face Queen’ Park. “I’m interested more to see how we get on next season.
“It’s a strong squad, definitely. The club’s definitely on the rise, with good owners. Similar to here, they got new investors recently. They’re not afraid to help the team and it’s worked so far.
“Do I hope to be part of that? Yes, 100 per cent.
“I’ll see what the plans are. I’ve got another year on my contract and I’ll try and finish as strong as I can here.
Fogarty: Pars and Dunfermline ‘on the rise’
“It’s similar to here. I’m confident both clubs are on the rise.
“Our target here is just to stay in the league, as simple as that really. But there’s no boundaries to where this club can also go, similar to Birmingham.”
Fogarty started just three of previous manager Michael Tidser’s 11 matches in charge.
But he was restored to the starting line-up in Lennon’s second game against Livingston before retaining his place as Dunfermline slipped to ninth with the 1-0 defeat to Hamilton Accies last weekend.
Just six points now separate the bottom four teams in the Championship, and the Pars know they will go above Queen’s Park if they can win at Hampden.
“We’re all just trying to remain calm,” continued Fogarty. “The gaffer’s really good at keeping us calm, one game at a time.
“We’re not looking at, ‘if this happens, we’ll be fine’ or whatever. Just take the games as they come.
“Every game is like a cup final, really.
“It’s so tight down there. We’re all aware of how tight it is. It’s can we get three points and then move on to the next one?”
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