Dunfermline boss Jim Jefferies is eyeing a spot in the last 16 of the William Hill Scottish Cup after drawing Stranraer in the fourth round.
It may well be a tricky looking away tie for the Pars after they swept East Stirling aside on Sunday, but Jefferies is hoping familiarity will give the East End Park side an edge when they meet at the end of the month. “After the play-offs last season we know them well,” he said. “We have won down there two or three times but it is a tough tie.
“It could have been tougher but it is a winnable game and they will be saying the same.
“We go down there in the league expecting to win and it will not be any different in the cup.
“It will be very competitive as it always is. It is a team from our own league and it will just be about who wants it more on the day.”
Jefferies had hoped for a home tie to boost the club’s coffers but reckons victory at Stair Park could well pave the way for a lengthy Scottish Cup stint.
“The draw has paired the top 14 clubs in the leagues so it opens a pathway for somebody unfancied to go and get a cup run if they get the right draws,” he added.
The Pars have allowed defender Ross Drummond to remain on loan at Berwick Rangers, with the full-back set to stay with the Shielfield club until January.
However, Declan O’Kane has now returned from his loan period at Montrose.
Meanwhile, club officials are set to lay a wreath at the grave of former Pars player Gary Riddell before Saturday’s game at Peterhead.
The Ellon-born central defender, who played at East End Park for two years in the late ’80s, tragically died at the age of just 22 on June 11 1989 while running in the Dunfermline half marathon to raise money for the relatives of the Hillsborough disaster.
The Pars board wished to mark the 25-year anniversary of his death in some fashion and deemed this weekend’s trip north as the perfect chance.
Director Billy Braisby said a delegation will lay a wreath at his grave in Ellon at noon on Saturday and said it would be a “fitting tribute” if fans also attended.