David Cook insists Dunfermline have never lost faith in manager James McPake, despite fan anger at the recent run of disappointing results.
Last month’s below-par performance and 3-0 defeat to rivals Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup was met by loud boos from the East End Park support.
It left the Fifers with just one victory – and five defeats – from seven games.
The loss of a third straight derby did not lighten the mood amongst some in the Pars faithful.
However, a terrible injury list can be viewed as one mitigating factor in the slump, as can the club’s strategy of giving youth an opportunity.
And, with back-to-back wins over Arbroath and Airdrie meaning they have now lost just one of their last five Championship outings, Cook is adamant the boardroom is fully behind McPake and assistant Dave Mackay.
The Dunfermline chairman and CEO said: “It was one win in seven and we’re in football, it’s a results-based industry.
“But there was zero pressure on James from myself, Thomas [Meggle, sporting director] and the board.
“I can’t praise James and Dave highly enough for how they’ve coped with the injury challenges they’ve had this season and how they’ve kept calm and just got on with the task in hand.
“I hope an element of that comes down to trust and communication between us.
‘We believe in James’
“Yes, none of us are delighted when we’ve only won one in seven, but we believe in James, we believe in Dave and we believe in the direction the club’s going in is the right direction.
“So, what you don’t do is make knee-jerk reactions and get too carried away when a few results haven’t gone our way.
“We trust we’re moving in the right direction and we’ve got a lot of faith in James, Dave and the group that we can keep improving.”
Sitting in fourth in the table and with the prospect of the injured defensive trio of Kyle Benedictus, Sam Fisher and Rhys Breen returning to action in the coming weeks, things are looking rosier for Dunfermline.
While their long-term goals may be loftier, Cook has admitted that last year’s relegation from the Championship and spending last season in League One should temper expectations this term.
He added: “You should understand how disappointed we all were after the defeat to Raith in the Scottish Cup.
‘It’s a journey,’ insists Cook
“It was a bitter blow to lose and to lose that way.
“But what we don’t do is get too down about these things. There’s still loads to play for this season and hopefully we’re getting a bit of momentum now.
“We have to be mindful we are a promoted team in this division.
“I don’t know what James’ view on this was but if someone had said to me as chairman of Dunfermline Athletic in mid-December that we’d be fourth in the table after getting promoted last summer, I’d be pretty buoyant with that progress.
“It’s a journey. We would all love to be rattling through the leagues, but we’ve all seen how competitive this division is.
“We have to be mindful that it was never going to be a simple, straightforward continuation. There were going to be bumps in the road.”
