Allan Johnston admits Dunfermline have struggled to cope with the absence of Joe Cardle as they seek to rediscover their goal touch.
The previously free-scoring Pars have scored just one goal in their last three outings, in sharp contrast to their prolific start to the campaign which saw them find the net a remarkable 39 times in 14 games.
Johnston reckons it is no coincidence that Dunfermline have struggled for inspiration since Cardle, whose dazzling form saw him claim Championship player of the month for August, dropped out of the side with a hamstring injury.
He is due to return to the fold next month, while fellow widemen David Hopkirk and Michael Paton have also been absent, leaving Johnston with an attacking conundrum.
Johnston said: “In the last couple of weeks we just haven’t created the same quality of chances we had in the early part of the season.
“If I’m being totally honest, Joe Cardle has been a massive loss to us on that left-hand side.
“It doesn’t help when you have Michael Paton and David Hopkirk, who can both play wide, missing too.
“It makes if difficult when you seem to be losing all of your natural options to play in that position.
“We’ve had boys playing out of position, looking to fill areas, and we have yet to find that balance.
“We need to get back to being a goal threat.
“We haven’t been putting as many crosses in recently, which was a big part of our play, and we need to start taking shots and working the keeper.
“We aren’t far away – it’s just about finding that threat again.”
However, Johnston knows that will be easier said than done against high-flying Livingston, who have emerged as the division’s surprise package.
The rampant Lions are on a run of five wins from their last six league outings, leading to manager David Hopkin picking up manager of the month for September.
Johnston, who saw his side claim a 1-1 draw at Almondvale earlier this term, said: “They have done brilliantly and they are the form team in the country right now. They have the best away form in the Championship and are playing really well.
]“They have a system that obviously suits them, they don’t lose many goals and they have a lot of height and physical presence. More than that, they have a lot of very good footballers. We know we are going to have to match that, so hopefully we will put in the excellent performance that will be needed to get a result.”
Tomorrow’s clash at East End Park also heralds the start of the second quarter of fixtures, with the Pars still well-placed to mount a promotion charge having now sized up every opponent at least once.
Johnston reflected: “It has been a good first quarter but it could have been slightly better, of course.
“We can look back on a positive start to the season.
“The challenge is to keep improving. It’s the start of another quarter, another tough run of games, and we need to make sure we are firing on all cylinders.”
