Neil Lennon has vowed to wrap ‘talisman’ Chris Kane in cotton wool after the striker earned Dunfermline what could be a vital win in their relegation battle.
The former St Johnstone striker drilled in a loose ball with 20 minutes remaining at Hampden to defeat Queen’s Park 1-0.
The victory lifts the Pars into eighth on goal difference and out of the dreaded play-off spot they occupied before kick-off.
It was a thoroughly-deserved success – and one that was badly needed given Airdrie’s point against Raith Rovers and Hamilton Accies’ triumph over Partick Thistle.
“We will have to wait and see how crucial that win was,” said Lennon. “We will have to wait and see how the next three games go.
“It was just important to win and keep that confidence going.
“We dominated this game and deserved to win. The players worked really hard, they’ve had a good week, and it’s a crucial three points.
“But it’s still a four-team scrap.
“I said last week it’s going to flip-flop and it has again. It will flip-flop again as we go along.”
Dunfermline dominated possession and efforts at goal but Kane hit the post with one effort in the 29th minute and it took them until the 70th minute to earn the breakthrough.
Lennon: ‘One of the hardest jobs’
Craig Clay did brilliantly to battle for possession and play in Lewis McCann and, when Calum Ferrie palmed away his low cross, Kane was on hand to hammer into the unguarded net.
“The players are driving me crazy,” added Lennon, who was on his best behaviour after this week being given a Scottish FA warning for critical comments about referees.
“This is one of the hardest jobs I’ve ever had. We are putting an enormous amount of work in and the players are responding great but they just lack that bit of quality sometimes.
“In Chris Kane we have a goal-scorer, which is priceless at this level.
“We needed him today. We missed him last week and I’m going to wrap him up in cotton wool for the rest of the season.
“We just need to get him out there because he’s got that talismanic type of character about him.”
Meanwhile, Lennon – who has had plenty of success as a player and manager at Hampden – has urged his players to enjoy their victory at the national stadium.
“The club is under my skin,” he said. “There’s good people and you want to do well for them. So, there’s a lot of happy faces.
“I said to the players, it’s all about feeling in the game. It’s not about medals and money, it’s about the feeling you get from a win.
“You can’t replicate that. They’ll go home tonight and get a real buzz out of it. But they’ve got to go again on Monday.”
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