Dunfermline Press | Sport | On borrowed time?

Thursday, 21st August, 2008

Published: Thursday, 1st November, 2007 09:30

On borrowed time?

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KENNY FOR HIS THOUGHTS: Stephen Kenny turns away as the Stirling bench celebrate a goal in Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Forthbank

STEPHEN KENNY has insisted there will be no fresh faces added to the Pars’ squad before Saturday’s crunch home clash with Livingston.

Chairman John Yorkston told Press Sport yesterday (Wednesday) the board had given Kenny the go-ahead to bring in up to three new players on loan in time to face bottom-of-the-table Livi.

The manager stressed no-one would be coming in before the weekend although Press Sport understands a deal could be done soon after to bring in a defender from a SPL club as a short-term solution to the club’s crippling injury crisis.

An entire first team was missing from Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at part-timers Stirling Albion, a result that heaped more pressure on the under-fire Pars boss.

The club’s board met on Monday to discuss Kenny’s position for the second time in four days but issued a statement insisting, “it was unanimously agreed that Stephen Kenny retains the board’s full backing.”

Kenny met Yorkston, director of football Jim Leishman and other members of the club’s board on Monday afternoon to discuss the club’s current situation.

At the meeting, Kenny revealed Scott Wilson would be the new club captain following long-standing club skipper Scott Thomson’s ongoing injury problems.

The meeting is thought to have been a frank exchange but no ultimatums were given to Kenny about how long he has to save his job.

Yorkston told Press Sport, “The board is backing him for now. We are trying our best to get him out of this mess. We realise there were 12 or 13 senior players out at the weekend.

“No-one is trying to paper over the cracks, this is not a good time at the moment. No-one expected this at all but injuries are a major problem affecting his selection. Losing 3-0 to a team bottom of the league who had not won for six or seven months wasn’t on the agenda, simple as that.

“Being two points off the bottom of the league with the worst goal difference in the league wasn’t on the agenda at the start of the season but we are trying to see if we can get it right.

“We have not put any time limits on it.

“We never said two games. We just have to see how it goes. Obviously, if we play 10 games and we’ve not won any there’s a big problem. We’re hoping the season will be kick-started this Saturday.

“We both spoke openly. We know his thoughts and he knows how we feel. He is determined to get it right and we’ll just take it as it comes.”

Asked if he still believed he had the right man to make the Pars a force again, Yorkston said, “We did before and we are giving him the opportunity to prove us right. We’re not rushing to make a change.

“It’s actually harder for us to keep him on than get rid of him. If you wanted to sack someone you’d have every reason after a 5-0 and a 3-0. It would be quite easy to jump in and do something.”

Admitting it had been a “nightmare two weeks”, Kenny said, “People who have been paying their money have to be disappointed with what they have seen so far, to say the least, as well as the people who have put money into the club.

“All these people have the right to be disappointed, none more so than myself.

“We don’t want to let them down, we want to thrive.

“We have to get back to passing the ball well and expressing ourselves the way the players can.

“We look like a team that’s playing under pressure. You play well when you are enjoying your football. We have to get away from the fearful way we have been playing.”

A club statement on Tuesday suggested Mark Burchill, Darren Young and Scott Morrison would be “match fit” for the Livingston match.

However, Kenny said yesterday only Burchill and Stephen Simmons could be fit in time to return. Morrison came through an hour in the reserves at Arbroath on Monday but isn’t match fit while Young is unlikely to play.

Jim McIntyre had a further setback this week when a scan revealed a further tear in his calf which will sideline him for at least another six weeks.

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