East Fife player/manager Gary Naysmith believes his side’s draw in midweek with amateur side Leven United may prove to be a blessing in disguise when the Fifers start their League Two campaign at East Stirling today.
Naysmith explained: “We did really well last Saturday to knock Dumbarton out of the Scottish League Cup and everyone has taken a lift from it. We closed them down well and worked really hard for the result.
“We were then further boosted by drawing Motherwell in the next round however getting the 2-2 result at Leven in midweek has ensured everyone has their feet on the ground.”
“I fielded a strong side and maybe it is just what we needed as football has a habit of sneaking up and reminding you that you have to keep working hard to achieve anything.”
Naysmith checked out East Stirling last Friday night when they lost 5-0 to Falkirk.
He said: “East Stirling lined up with a formation that was designed to keep things very tight and look to hit Falkirk on the break. I would be very surprised if they adopted a similar approach as they did very well on their home patch in their games against us last season.
“They will change their system and hopefully we can more than match it.”
Striker Kevin Smith returns from a suspension and on-loan St Johnstone defender Jason Kerr is available after the Perth club did not allow him to feature against the Sons.