By Neil Robertson

DUNFERMLINE MANAGER Jim McIntyre hopes to sign defender Neil McGregor, after he impressed as a trialist during Wednesday night’s friendly against English Championship side Coventry.

McGregor, who was partnered at the heart of the Pars’ defence by his former Clyde team-mate Chris Higgins, is needed to plug the gap left by Andy Dowie, who is still some weeks away from returning to full fitness after injuring his knee.

McIntyre said, “Neil McGregor was excellent for us on Wednesday night.

“We’re now locked in talks with his agent and hope to quickly agree a deal for the 24-year-old.”

McIntyre has been quick to dismiss the importance of results in the Pars’ recent friendlies, instead, insisting it is all about performance at this stage of the season.

However, he couldn’t disguise his delight at notching a win against Coventry.

“The Championship’s a good league with physically-strong players who are handsomely paid and Coventry were a real test for us,” he said.

“I sat and had a cuppa with their manager Chris Coleman after the game and he was really complimentary about our team and their performance.”

With Coventry out of the way, McIntyre’s thoughts have turned to Saturday’s CIS League Cup tie against Dumbarton and it looks as though he may be without a number of key players for the tricky away game.

“Calum Woods, who has injured his back, was able to do a bit of running yesterday, so we’ll see how he is today before assessing whether he’ll be fit for the Dumbarton game,” he said.

“Austin McCann should have recovered from the virus he’s been suffering from. However, we’ll definitely be without Scott Muirhead, who’s still feeling the effects of his illness, which thankfully, isn’t swine flu.

“Worryingly, Joe Cardle also has a foot injury and we’ll be sending him for a scan to have it checked over.

“And of course, Andy Dowie is still two or three weeks away from returning.

“But injuries are part and parcel of pre-season and you just have to get on with it, starting at Dumbarton.

“The league’s our bread and butter, but it’s always nice to have a run in the cup.

“However, it’s a tricky first game away to a side who’ve just been promoted.”

He continued, “We had a similar tricky trip last year when we went to Peterhead, but our attitude and application there was spot on and I’ll be hoping for the same again on Saturday.”