John Hughes sent a congratulatory ‘well done’ to Raith Rovers for their weekend cup triumph.
But the Dunfermline manager is determined to ensure the plaudits are all for the Pars after Wednesday night’s crucial Fife derby.
Raith will go into the East End Park encounter on a high after defeating Queen of the South to clinch the SPFL Trust Trophy on Sunday.
The Stark’s Park side will now turn their attentions to trying to claw back Partick Thistle in fourth place in the Championship in pursuit of a promotion play-off spot.
But relegation-threatened Dunfermline are also desperate for a victory that would haul them six points clear of Queen of the South at the bottom and to within two points of Ayr United in eighth place.
Hughes said: “We know what’s coming from Raith Rovers. It’s a derby match, they’re our rivals.
“But sometimes in football you have to take your hat off and say ‘well done’.
“I’m big enough and man enough to say that. But hopefully they’ll be saying ‘well done’ to us on Wednesday.
“It’s a big month for the club. We know the importance of the month; it doesn’t faze us.
“If you lose then you suffer the consequences and you have to embrace it. You have to use it as your fuel to go and get success.
“It will be the same for Raith Rovers. They’re trying to get into the play-offs, and that’s nip and tuck as well.
“So, from now until the end of the season, every game and every team will have something to play for.”
Virus
Dunfermline have had to overcome a virus that hit their squad in the aftermath of their 2-0 defeat to Inverness Caley Thistle 10 days ago.
Thankfully, from a Pars perspective, the illnesses have subsided and, with Lewis McCann back in training after a shoulder injury and Bobby Kamwa fit again, Paul Allan is their only doubt with a hamstring issue.
He added: “We had a virus going through the squad, and five or six of them were suffering a little bit. That’s it all cleared up now. We started back training on Saturday and the boys are looking refreshed and ready to go again.
“I’m seeing two or three, or maybe more than that, angry players on the training pitch because they’re not in the team.
“But they’re angry in a good way, they’ve got that head on that they want back in it. I like that, I like these guys who are not going to take it lying down.
“So, that brings good competition for places and keeps the guys that are in the team on their toes.”
