Dunfermline manager Jim Jefferies insists the Pars should be involved in the promotion mix come the end of the season, despite back-to-back defeats of late.
The Pars still have their sights set on being league leaders Rangers’ closest challengers but have slumped to fourth in the table after following up a 4-0 defeat at Forfar with a 2-1 loss at home to East Fife at the weekend.
Stenhousemuir and Ayr have both leapt above Jefferies’ men in the standings but the Pars boss is refusing to panic about his team’s promotion chances.
“The best time to look at the league is when there are 12 or 14 games under your belt,” he stressed. “Rangers are strong in this league, have not been beaten and are a tough act to conquer.
“When you look at the rest chasing the three play-off places, like everybody else our players would be mightily disappointed if we didn’t take one of them.
“It will not be easy because other teams like Stenhousemuir think they have a chance, Ayr United think they have a chance and there are one or two others.
“Dick Campbell said after our game with Forfar that he thought they could still be in it. So there is a long, long way to go but what is encouraging for us and what gives the players belief is having played everybody we are not saying that they are easy games but we are capable of winning them.
“Stenhousemuir are going well but I felt we gave Stenhousemuir daft goals and we scored five against them. That was away from home but we have to remain focused, put the pressure on and keep challenging Rangers.
“If we finish in the play-offs with a chance to go up then we will learn lessons from last season, I’m sure.”
The Pars are two points ahead of fifth-placed Stranraer and travel to face the side immediately below them at Stair Park on Saturday.
Then follows a Scottish Cup tie up at Elgin, before the rearranged League One game with Rangers at Ibrox on Wednesday November 6.