Manager on Thursday

07/03/19: SC - “Great that there is confidence and a bit of belief now, there is now a positivity about the place because of the results.”

Straight from being presented with the trophy for the Ladbrokes Championship Manager of the Month for February, Stevie Crawford described his feelings:-

“In terms of where we were with results three weeks ago, it is nice. The pleasing thing for myself is not actually getting the award but it starts getting people talking about Dunfermline in a positive manner. It brings attention to the club which is great.

“Credit to the boys, coaching staff and everybody about the place for how they have helped since I came into the job. On that side it is great but our focus is very much on Saturday’s game against Alloa.

“It has been a frustrating season but the frustration has gone in the last five or six games where we have hit a run of form. Positivity comes from winning games of football, the more attention we can bring to the club in this manner the better.

“The feeling that I have got for the place is what I am trying to bring out and instil whether it is coaching staff or players. I was fortunate to play for the club, there is a lot of history behind it but to actually now be in charge of driving people forward, there is nothing better than bringing positive attention to the place.

“It makes it more vibrant. The supporters get a lift out of it, the players get a lift and the staff get a lift as well.”

The gaffer is hoping that the curse of the Manager of the Month Award does not appear when his side take on Alloa Athletic on Saturday.

No one would dispute that Stevie has brought a big turnaround to the fortunes at Dunfermline Athletic where no wins in five games was followed by a winning run of four.

He felt it important to be consistent with his players, and them to be consistent in terms of performances and on the training pitch. That makes going into work every day an enjoyable thing for all concerned.

“We have been working as hard as we can and cannot take our focus away going into our next challenge against Alloa. What has allowed us to turn the corner is the hard work and the disciplined side of our performances. All we can ask is to demand more of it.

“It is an absolute honour and privilege to be in this position but you are duty bound to do what is best for the club. From day one and in the conversations I have had with Ross the demands are to take the club forward. The drive is to get better day in day out.”

Stevie has noted how difficult opponents Alloa have been for Dunfermline this season and referenced the league table:-

“I know Ross County and Dundee United are at the top and they have pulled away a bit. Ayr United are the next above us. I said a few weeks ago when Morton were sitting above us, that was the one that we had to focus on.

“People were talking about getting into the play off positions but that is in our own hands at the moment. If we can continue to win games of football why not look and see if we can catch Ayr United next.

“On the flip side of that, if we go thinking we just need to turn up against Alloa, Inverness are in a position where they can leapfrog us as well. We are very much not focused on what Inverness are doing behind us, it is in our own hands to Alloa and try to take three points.

“I know it doesn’t sound the exciting, thrilling, revolutionary ideas in football but what has got us where we are at the moment, during a season that was a hard one for us is the hard work and discipline.

“If we come away from that then very quickly things can turn against you, scraping for things here and there to try and turn the corner again. Great that there is confidence and a bit of belief now but as I said there is now a positivity about the place because of the results.”

Talking about players available for Saturday, SC explained that Jackson Longridge, Myles Hippolyte and James Vincent have trained fully all this week. Faissal El Bakhtaoui is expected to miss the match against Alloa and Aidan Connolly is also expected to miss the trip to the club where his father Paddy is the assistant to manager Jim Goodwin.

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