Craig Wighton will approach the final weeks of the Championship campaign with a renewed sense of perspective.
Of course, Dunfermline’s bid to secure a playoff place is a matter of immense professional pride and Wighton’s burning desire to end the Pars’ recent malaise is audible and incontrovertible.
However, there are more important things in life than football.
The 23-year-old is reflecting on becoming a father for the first time, with baby Winnie having arrived in the world on April 3. Although a Saturday, Dad was ineligible to face parent club Hearts that day.
“It’s nice to see her already working around the football — she’ll need to get used to it,” laughed Wighton.
Yet the beautiful game was the furthest thing from the mind of the former Dundee favourite as he and girlfriend, Bex, celebrated the new addition to their family.
“People always tell you ‘things will change’ and you’ll get a different outlook, and you wonder if that’ll be the case,” Wighton told The Courier. “But it’s absolutely true. It was the best feeling in the world when she was born.
“Suddenly, everything else seems a wee bit less important — every decision is ‘how will that effect Winnie and the family’. That’s all that matters. When you have a daughter, there’s a lot more to life.
There are about seven other boys who have partners who were due over the last couple of months . . . I’m blaming that lockdown.
“Football is what I love to do. I’ve worked my whole life to become a footballer and I know that it means a lot to everyone — it does to me, too — but even in the last fortnight, I’ve had a different perspective on things.”
Over an occasionally spotty signal as Wighton returns from training in Alloa to his Dundee home (car journeys provide a rare moment of tranquility for any new father), he explains that the sense of anticipation which accompanied Winnie’s arrival was only heightened by their decision not to find out the sex of the baby in advance.
🎥 Watch as Craig Wighton scored the only goal of the game from yesterday's 1-0 win.
Full highlights later 🏁 pic.twitter.com/3hank0oiF6
— Dunfermline Athletic (@officialdafc) March 14, 2021
“I was convinced we were having a wee boy but my missus was saying: ‘I’ve got a feeling it’s a girl’. I should’ve known to trust her,” he continued. “I wasn’t quite confident enough to buy lots of stuff for a boy — which is for the best — but I was just saying to everyone: ‘it’s going to be a boy’.
“We always said that when we had a bairn, we wouldn’t want to know what we were having, but when it’s only a couple of weeks until the due date, you are absolutely desperate to find out.”
“As well as wanting to play every week and join a club where I would enjoy my football and the atmosphere, I needed security for my family.
Wighton adds: “Now we’ve had a wee girl, everything in our house is pink now. It’s something else.”
Dunfermline may have the most sleep deprived strike-force in Europe when they line up against Queen of the South on Saturday, with Declan McManus and his partner, Jennifer, also celebrating the birth of a baby boy on Monday.
That’s not the half of it. The Pars may need to open an internal creche soon. “Deccy [McManus] had a wee boy and there are about seven other boys who have partners who were due over the last couple of months . . . I’m blaming that lockdown.”
Wighton is in jovial mood; evidently fulfilled personally and — after a challenging couple of years at Hearts — professionally. Dunfermline may not be setting the heather alight, but he feels appreciated and ready to begin a new chapter in his life.
Currently on loan from the Jambos, a two-year permanent contract will kick in from the summer and, with four goals from nine outings, Wighton has already shown himself able to ripple the net even in a Pars side currently lacking in potency.
“Knowing the baby was coming was the biggest factor in my decision to come here,” continued Wighton. “I knew my contract was up and the end of the season and I had been in and out of the Hearts team, albeit I thought I did well when I was picked.
“As well as wanting to play every week and join a club where I would enjoy my football and the atmosphere, I needed security for my family.
“In terms of ticking all the boxes, I just had a good feeling from the moment it came up. I still live in Dundee, so it’s not too far from home. I feel like this is the perfect place for the next stage in my life, and to kick on in my career.”
The most pressing waypoint in that bid to ‘kick on’ is playing a part in the playoffs.
Dunfermline are without a victory in seven outings and, having led the division on November 20, now find themselves one point adrift of fourth-placed Inverness. However, Wighton remains defiant and driven to ensure this campaign does not fizzle out.
“We’ve defended well in the last couple of games,” he said. “Our shape without the ball has been solid and we haven’t conceded many chances, but that has taken away some of our attacking threat.
Craig Wighton almost grabbed a debut hat-trick… and what a team goal this would have been 👏 pic.twitter.com/HeMbYn7uqw
— Dunfermline Athletic (@officialdafc) February 21, 2021
“It’s vital that we find that balance. We all know that we haven’t scored enough goals but we are working really hard to rectify that. It’s about trying things, being brave and creative, and hopefully it will click in the final third.
“If you look at the players we have in the attacking areas, there are goals in the team and there is still time to prove that and build momentum at the perfect time of the season.”
