Dundee United aren’t quite yet in Dunfermline’s sights – but Ayr United certainly are.
Stevie Crawford has urged his players to target Ayr United in third spot in the Championship after racking up a fifth consecutive victory at the weekend.
The Pars have now kept five clean sheets in a row and won four games by just 1-0 after being goalless at half-time in every one of their winning streak.
It is a remarkable run that has catapulted the Fifers away from possible relegation trouble and into fourth ahead of the visit of the Tangerines this weekend.
Saturday’s triumph over Alloa Athletic, coupled with Ayr’s 2-0 defeat to Falkirk on Friday night, also hauled Dunfermline to within just three points of the Honest Men and six off Robbie Neilson’s side.
And, with eight matches remaining – including a clash with Ayr later this month – in a rollercoaster campaign, Crawford insists the Pars should keep aiming upwards.
He said: “If we had spoken about this three weeks ago, we would have been absolutely delighted to be in the position that we are in.
“But I said to the boys on Saturday that there was a gap of six points between us and Ayr United. That was our target.
“We can’t say if Inverness are going to win their game in hand or not, that is in their own hands.
“The pleasing thing is that we gave gained three points on Ayr United.
“They are the next above us. I said a few weeks ago when Morton were sitting above us, that was the one that we had to focus on.
“People are talking about getting into the play-off positions but that is in our own hands at the moment.
“If we can continue to win games of football why not look and see if we can catch Ayr United next?”
