Ewan Otoo hopes Dunfermline can confirm their Championship status with a strong end to the season – and help convince boss Neil Lennon to stay in the dugout.
Lennon arrived last month on an initial short-term deal with the remit of leading the Pars away from relegation trouble.
Setting aside the complicating factor of Hamilton Accies’ appeal against their SPFL points deduction, a draw at home against Airdrie will ensure it is job done for the Fifers.
Thoughts can then turn to rebuilding for next term.
And Otoo has confessed it would be a major boost for the East End Park men if Lennon could be persuaded to take the manager’s job longer term.
“The boys would love it if he stayed on,” said the former Celtic youngster of Lennon. “I think you can see the impact that he’s had on the team. He’s given us all a lift.
“With someone like him coming in, you see what he’s already done in the game, and you just want to continue to learn off him. You want to absorb everything.
Otoo: Pars can ‘push on’ if Lennon stays
“Hopefully that is the case. Hopefully he is here beyond the summer and then we can push on as a unit.
“He’ll get more time on the training ground, and he’ll obviously get all his ideas across.
“We’ll know him more, he’ll know us more. And I think, as a unit, it’ll probably be the best thing for us to push forward.”
Dunfermline’s goalless draw with Partick Thistle last weekend kept them in seventh place and lifted them six points away from tomorrow’s opponents Airdrie, who currently occupy the relegation play-off spot in ninth.
With a goal difference that is 14 better off, the Pars need one more point to be arithmetically safe, barring a successful legal challenge by bottom side Hamilton.
“That’s one way to look at it, but that’s not the way we’re looking at it,” added Otoo when asked about aiming for survival.
“We just want to go out there, put in another good performance and get three points. Just to finish as strongly as we can and finish as highly as we can.
“We’re not too focused on that, we’re just focused on this next game and putting in the best performance.
“It’s the last home game of the season. The fans have been brilliant all season. So, we want to go and get another win in front of them to close out the season here.
“Hopefully, we can do that.”
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