Dunfermline’s new striker Jake Hyde has revealed how a day which began training with the Dundee FC squad ended with him coming off the bench to play for the Pars in Dingwall.
The former Barnet FC forward had scored against his new employers last week while playing as a trialist for the Dark Blues. He was only able to turn out for Dundee as he had received international clearance from the SFA after signing for local junior side Lochee United.
Hyde netted two more goals for Dundee against Cowdenbeath last weekend, and Dunfermline boss Jim McIntyre was impressed enough to sign up the in-form hitman as an amateur until the end of the season.
He went straight into the squad which won at Ross County on Tuesday night and leapfrogged Raith Rovers at the top of the table. Now, Hyde is hoping to help Dunfermline secure promotion to the SPL.
“Everything has happened really quickly,” he said. “I was training with Dundee for a couple of weeks and the opportunity came up for me to play for them which I jumped at. I had played with their assistant manager Matty Lockwood at Barnet last year when he was on loan there.
“He had called me up and asked if I would like to try my luck at Dens,” said Hyde, who is staying in Glasgow at the home of Motherwell player and childhood friend Tom Hateley.
“When I started training with Dundee, they had hoped to be coming out of administration and to sign me. Unfortunately, that could not happen. Then, I was told last Saturday that March 31 was the deadline for signing for a club.
“So, I asked my agent to have a word with a couple of senior teams to see if anyone was interested in taking me until the end of the season. I only found out around 10am on Tuesday that I was going to Dunfermline.
“I was actually at training with Dundee when I got the call from my agent. There were no hard feelings from the Dundee manager Barry Smith as he understood the situation but there were quite a few jokes flying around from the players.
“I really enjoyed my time at Dundee. They are a great bunch of lads and I hope I have helped them escape relegation.
“I thought Dunfermline were a great side when I played against them and I was delighted to come on for the last 15 minutes or so at Dingwall on Tuesday. I would like nothing more than to now help Dunfermline win promotion and maybe secure a long-term deal.”RejuvenatedHyde will be part of the Pars squad travelling the short distance to face local rivals Cowdenbeath. The match sees top face second bottom but McIntyre is taking nothing for granted against a rejuvenated Blue Brazil.
“We are facing a Cowdenbeath side that have had some great results recently. They went to Partick Thistle and won and not many teams do that. They drew up at Dundee last weekend, then had a draw against Falkirk the other night by all accounts they were unlucky not to have won the game.
“That shows they have a belief within their squad and Jimmy Nicholl is doing a great job there. Add in the fact that it is a local derby and it has the makings of being a great game.”
McIntyre will be without the injured Steven Bell, Andy Kirk, Neil McGregor, Ryan Thomson and Nick Phinn for the game while Calum Woods is rated no better than 50/50 with a foot problem.
Meanwhile, McIntyre’s opposite number Nicholl has warned not only today’s opponents but every team they meet between now and the end of the season that it is going to take a special performance to beat them.
“We have got that early season enthusiasm about us again and it is not only showing in training but the players are putting it together on a Saturday,” he said. “I have no doubt how they are going to go about their job against Dunfermline because the players are now full of enthusiasm, determination and energy.
“We have no fear, regardless of who we are playing, and if we had produced in the middle third of the season what we are now producing we would be nowhere near the position we are in the league.
“The pleasing thing for me is knowing that if any team gets anything out of us between now and the end of the season they will have had to work their socks off against us.”
Meanwhile Cowdenbeath yesterday blamed the intervention of an agent for their loan signing of young Rangers FC star Andrew Shinnie failing to meet Thursday night’s temporary transfer deadline. The club were shocked to learn yesterday that the necessary paperwork had not reached the SFA, SFL and SPL in time after Rangers had agreed to 21-year- old Shinnie’s move to Central Park until the end of the season.
Shinnie would have gone straight into the squad for today’s Fife derby.
Today’s game is all-ticket but police are now allowing match-day sales. Supporters without a brief can purchase tickets at East End Park up to noon today and from Central Park between noon and 2pm.