Dunfermline supporters are not dancing on the Halbeath Road just yet.
Nor should they be.
Bottom of the Championship after five fixtures is not where the Pars should be.
It’s not the dream they were sold by Peter Grant.
However, the East End Park boss earned a reprieve against Inverness on Saturday.
Amid suffocating pressure and suggestions that another meek defeat would see Grant dismissed, Dunfermline turned in their best league showing of the season.
Some fans still believe Grant should go — upcoming games against Hamilton, Raith Rovers and Queen of the South prior to the international hiatus will surely be defining in that regard — but there is finally some cause for optimism.
Back to basics
Grant showed a willingness to pick pragmatism over panache.
He selected a solid back-four and brought in Vytas Gaspuitis to play in the heart of defence with Paul Watson. Between them, they were dominant in the air and scrapped for every loose ball.
Communication was better; the understanding was visible.
Ross Graham, who has endured a steep learning curve since arriving on loan from Dundee United, was left out of the match-day squad altogether. He was not injured.
Players such as Aaron Comrie and Josh Edwards were in their favoured positions and Graham Dorrans enjoyed his best game for the Pars.
A first clean sheet under Grant — after conceding 16 goals in their previous five outings — is not inconsequential progress.
Infectious Kennedy
If Dunfermline are to ascend the Championship, one suspects Kai Kennedy will be central to that.
The on-loan Rangers winger was irrepressible against Inverness.
Every time he received the ball, he sought to surge forward; fancy flicks, daring nutmegs, whiplash-inducing changes of direction.
If Dunfermline were supposed to be a club crippled by self-doubt and nerves, someone forgot to tell Kennedy.
His attitude is similarly laudable.
At one point in the second period, the diminutive flyer took a hefty challenge from David Carson on the left-flank. Necks craned in the press box to see whether the referee would produce a card.
Instead, Kennedy leapt up immediately and took a quick free-kick.
“We were on top — there’s no point lying about, is there? We wanted a goal,” he told the media following the full-time whistle.
That philosophy must echo through End End Park: forget lamenting past defeats, there’s a job to be done.
Dunfermline depth
Selection complaints go down like a lead balloon with fans when results are not forthcoming.
Nevertheless, the Pars have undoubtedly faced challenges on that front over the last five weeks.
And after Covid cases, injuries and international call-ups, Dunfermline actually trained with healthy numbers and ample talent last week.
The likes of Dom Thomas and Craig Wighton — the latter excellent following his introduction — started on the bench, as did solid Championship performers Reece Cole and Kyle MacDonald.
In short, Grant now has a group of available players which leaves him with no excuses not to rise up the table.
