Dunfermline boss Jim McIntyre says the Pars will be prepared for their clash with Kilmarnock despite their plans being disrupted by Thursday’s wild weather.
One look at the forecast was enough to convince Pars boss Jim McIntyre to cancel training.
He said: ”I took the decision because of concerns over the safety of the players. I was really worried that with 90-100mph winds being forecast for later in the afternoon, they wouldn’t be able to get home.
”A lot of the lads live in the central belt and in the west where the weather was supposed to be at its worst. So, for the sake of one training session, I felt it was best to tell the players to stay at home.
”We will still be prepared and ready.”
Even if McIntyre hadn’t taken his decision to cancel training, his players wouldn’t have been able to practise on the grass pitches at Pitreavie as they are waterlogged.
With the exception of the gulls bobbing along on the surface water, no one has been able to use the pitches for weeks now a situation McIntyre admits is ”frustrating”.
He said: ”It is not ideal as Pitreavie has been out of commission for the last two months. We haven’t been able to use it as the water hasn’t been draining away.
”So we have had to train on the artificial surface we have at Pitreavie and on the grass at East End Park. It is frustrating, but something we just have to get on with.”
Dunfermline had eight senior players Kevin Rutkiewicz, Paul Burns, Steven McDougall, Nicky Phinn, Austin McCann, Steven Bell, Jason Thomson and Craig Easton out last week at Ibrox, and the injury jinx shows no sign of ending.
McIntyre added: ”Paddy Boyle hyper-extended his knee on Saturday against Rangers and is rated no better than 50/50 for the Kilmarnock game. Of the rest, only Paul Burns has a chance of making it.
”Joe Cardle had an injection in his knee on Tuesday and he now needs to rest. That is the only real cure for his tendonitis. It is something that’s very painful and Joe did really well to help us out at Ibrox.”