Steven Seeks Surprise
Saturday, 30th Jan 2021Steven Whittaker- “We do believe that we have a good squad and we can definitely keep up the chase.” we do believe that we have a good squad and we can definitely keep up the chase.”
Raith Rovers pulled off an unexpected victory to prove what can be done when travelling to Tynecastle. John McGlynn’s men’s win last Saturday inflicted the first defeat at home for Hearts since February last year and Steven Whittaker agreed that anyone in the division who goes to Tynecastle and gets a result will probably be a surprise but he still feels that it is not beyond the Pars to emulate Raith’s success-
“Hearts are expected to win all their home games. It just shows you how difficult it is to win football matches, even for Hearts when they go into most games as favourites.
“They have lost two this season, we have only lost one. We go into games to get the three points but never managed to get the goals recently to get us there. We know that we are capable on our day. It is a game that we are all looking forward to playing.”
This fixture against Hearts was originally scheduled to be played on a Tuesday night but was subsequently rearranged for a Saturday. It is a match that fans and players were looking forward and it is just disappointing that the fans will not be there to create what would have been a special atmosphere. Steven continued:-
“When it was decided that Hearts would be in this league it was a fixture that most teams would look forward to, going to play at Tynecastle and that challenge to go there and try and get some points. We beat them at home so going there will be just as tough if not tougher. It is a game that we are all looking forward to and trying to get us back to the winning ways that we have come away from recently.
“Obviously we would have loved it to be full of fans and the Dunfermline fans to have that day out in that type of stadium. I think the fixture itself should lift the players regardless of fans being there or not.
“As soon as the fixture came out the players would look for that and see when it was coming around. The motivation factors should be there on Saturday, it is a stadium that we all like to go and play our football in. The surface is good compared to other stadiums that we might visit in the season and so hopefully we can get the ball down and play some good stuff as well.”
With Hearts win on Tuesday might at Starks Park the capital side increased the gap between them at the top and the Pars in second was stretched to nine points though the Jambos have played one more fixture. Steven feels that the side’s current league position would be one that most would have considered successful after 12 matches when the season kicked off:-
“I think at the start everyone was asking what were your expectations and where do you see your season going. It was hard for me to judge, not being in the division and I am learning as I go along as well. We believe that we have got a squad that is capable of challenging. We are up there at the minute and we believe that we have let some points slip. There were other games when we got back into the game having been 3-0 down, 2-0 down and managed to scrape points out of those ones.
“We probably could have been slightly ahead of the points tally that we have which could have got us closer at the minute. We are not getting carried away but we do believe that we have a good squad and we can definitely keep up the chase.”
Of course there can be a large slice of confidence taken from the first match between the sides this season when Dunfermline won 2-1. That Friday night win was easy to recall for the 36 year old former Hibee:-
“With the first game against Hearts being on telly, everyone gave a good account of themselves that evening. Another performance like that would put us in a good place to try and get something from the game.
“We are going to have to reach those levels again because we all know that Hearts are a good side, they have good ability throughout their team so we will need to be on our A game at the weekend.”
Having drawn six of their 12 league games including their last three matches, Steven admitted that this is a match where they might take a draw especially with a return still to come at East End Park:-
“We are going to play Hearts three times. There are nine points available against Hearts, we have taken three out of three so far. If we can get a draw there and then when back at home in the third round, try to take more points off them than they take off us. That would be the aim.
“We know that we are in for a tough match. They have just lost at home to Raith Rovers and we beat them earlier in the season so they will have high motivation for the game against us as well. It is another factor in the match that we will need to rise above and match their levels if we are going to get something from the game.”
On the park Steven Whittaker will come up against his long term team mate at Rangers, Norwich City and Scotland, Steven Naismith. Whitts smiled:-
“Nais is one of my best friends in football. He was my room mate at Rangers, room mate at Scotland and we get on very well. He is someone I know I can always pick up the phone to, and likewise the other way. There is no hassle, we both know that we are competitors on the pitch. We get on with our job in the roles that we are trying to achieve. For ninety minutes it is forgotten about, he will have his aims for Hearts and I have my aims for Dunfermline this season. We will just get on with the task in hand.”
Scott Banks and Kyle Macdonald have been added to the Dunfermline squad during the January transfer window and Steven thinks that two new faces in the squad can freshen things up and lift the spirits:-
“The manager has looked into strengthening the depth of the squad, healthy competition for places is what every squad needs to push the boys who are in there on.
“Loss of form, suspension or injuries - you don’t know what is going to come the squads way, so it is good to have the quality on the bench and right through the squad. We feel like we had added that with those two new signings. When the chance comes along for them to get some minutes we will see how they get on.”
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