Dunfermline midfielder Chris Hamilton has been given a key role in James McPake’s side.
Positioned at the base of midfield, he is tasked with taking the ball from the central defenders before starting attacks.
When his side loses the ball he is one of the first snapping at the heels of the opposition.
He gets the same treatment when he’s in possession, but welcomes it – adhering to the principle of giving as good as he gets.
“I’m used to that, I like it,” said Hamilton. “I like getting knocked about, I like knocking people about – that’s part of my game.
“I like to do that side of the game so that other boys can go play.”
On his duties while in possession, he added: “That’s what we want to try and do.
“We want to build from the back and come through myself and Matty Todd and whoever is playing in there – and try and create chances by doing that.
“We’ve also got big [Lewis] McCann up front who we can also play more direct to at times.
“So we need to be able to mix our game up, especially in League 1.”
A squad together
The boyhood Dunfermline fan made his competitive debut at the weekend after signing at East End Park in the summer.
Last season he narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premiership with Arbroath.
That was one of several loans from parent club Hearts before the
20-year-old left Tynecastle in the summer.
From the @parsfoundation Mini Kickers to now pulling on the first team shirt 🏁
We'll catch up with Chris next week as the players return for pre season training 😎 pic.twitter.com/ZDd8IK2E7w
— Dunfermline Athletic (@officialdafc) June 8, 2022
One of the key ingredients to the success at Gayfield in recent years has been the team spirit fostered by Dick Campbell and his coaching staff.
Hamilton said the group he has since joined are just as close-knit.
“We don’t have the biggest of squads, so it’s been easy to gel together,” added Hamilton.
“The training has been good, it’s been tough. All the boys got through preseason and worked hard.
“I think that’s brought us closer together – to go through that preseason together.
“Then we’ve had good results on the pitch as well, which has made it easier.”
Players who can hurt teams
The Scotland under-21 international is wary of the threat posed by Buckie Thistle after the Highland League side took a point from Ross County in their opening game.
They went on to lose the bonus point on penalties and Hamilton knows it will give them extra motivation for the visit to East End Park on Tuesday.
It follows Dunfermline’s 2-0 opening-day victory over East Fife.
“We need to make sure that we are up for it,” he added.
“If we perform like more like we did in the second half [versus East Fife], with a bit more urgency and getting the ball forward a wee bit quicker, we have a lot of players in the team that can hurt teams.”
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