Published: Thursday, 20th November, 2008 17:10
Pars striker hopes to keep manager McIntyre on the bench
By Simon Harris
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THE gaffer may have played a vital role in Saturday’s 3-2 win at Livingston but striker Andy Kirk could be forgiven for hoping not to see Jim McIntyre on the pitch too often again this season!
The Pars’ hitman responded to a spell of four games without a goal by firing his eighth and ninth of the season to hit the top of the first division scoring charts.
Strike partner Graham Bayne was also on the scoresheet – ideal timing with manager McIntyre on as substitute to get the perfect view of his strikers’ prowess.
When asked afterwards by Press Sport whether performances like that would help keep the manager in the dugout rather than on the pitch, Kirk smiled.
“To be fair I think he would be happy enough with that if we are scoring goals,” Kirk replied.
“But he (McIntyre) is a good player. He’s experienced and has been about. Maybe a time will come when we will need him. It’s something to look forward to.”
For his part, McIntyre smiled at the suggestion he could be about to dismantle the Kirk-Bayne partnership.
“I’m not trying to break them up,” he said. “I just want to put as much pressure on them as possible.
“If I’m back fit and I can put a bit of pressure on, that’s healthy.
“It was good to see the two strikers scoring. We were doing a wee bit on that in training on Friday, when we have the ball in certain areas, looking at where the strikers need to be.
“They did that today and they finished with aplomb.”
Ironically, McIntyre could have deprived his side of the victory and Kirk of his ninth of the season on a different day and with different officials.
Recalling his winner, Kirk said, “I ended up out on the left and when the ball came across, I just kept myself in line to keep myself onside.
“The pass came to me and I took a touch but I could see straight across the line and when Steven Bell made the pass to me the gaffer was just inside me.
“He was offside so I think the linesman went to put his flag up for him and then realised that he wasn’t going for the ball.
“I thought he was going to put the flag up but you just play to the whistle. I played on and finished it before looking across to see him running back to the halfway line.
"I thought, ‘Well I’ll take that!’”
Now Kirk hopes the last-gasp victory can be a springboard for a winning run.
“There are a number of teams in this league that could go on a winning run,” he acknowledged.
“We just feel we’ve not gone on a run yet that could be classed as a winning streak – the most we’ve had is two in a row.
“Hopefully, we can put a nice run of wins together and stay in contention for the second half of the season.”
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Pars boss gets go-ahead to strengthen for title push