ALLAN JOHNSTON is confident that Faissal El Bakhtaoui can pick up from where he left off after rejoining Dunfermline.

The Pars boss was delighted to get his man last week when the 25-year-old signed a season-long loan deal from Dundee, which was followed by the capture of ex-Falkirk winger Myles Hippolyte less than 24 hours later.

El Bakhtaoui left Athletic, after hitting 30 goals to help them secure the League One title, for the Premiership Dark Blues two summers ago and Johnston is thrilled to have him back.

"It's Dundee's player so it takes a wee bit of time," he said.

"They've got to get players in and we need to try and persuade Fais to come. He was delighted to come; he wants to try and get his career back on track, it's a place he knows and the fans love him.

"There's nothing better as a player when you're going to a club where the manager likes you, the fans like you, and I think it will be really good for him. Hopefully he'll hit the ground running.

"I think with somebody like Fais for example, because he's still young, he's still desperate to do well and be successful.

"That's the kinda mixture you're looking for and coming back won't faze him at all.

"I think he'll be fine and I'm sure he'll have another very successful season.

"(But) it's not just about one player; it's about a whole team. The whole team needs to be playing well and creating chances.

"Hopefully Fais thrives off that as well and either creates goals or scores goals, or a bit of both."

The acquisition of Hipployte on a two-year deal from St Mirren raised eyebrows after he became embroiled in controversy against the Pars just over a year ago.

Hippolyte was handed a two-game retrospective SFA ban for simulation after winning Falkirk a penalty during a heated East End clash that the Bairns came back to win.

He has since been the subject of jeers from the Pars punters, but Johnston believes he can win them round.

"Coming from your rivals, well, having played with Falkirk before, it's up to him to hit the ground running and make sure that he comes a fans favourite," he added.

"You do that by working incredibly hard for the team, showing how much you want to be here and producing really good performances.

"He knows that and is desperate to be a success.

"I think he gives us something totally different. I think he gives us a bit of pace, he's big, he's strong, he can play up front and he can play wide, so he gives us a lot of options.

"You can see throughout the squad we're starting to get options everywhere and starting to get a bit of strength-in-depth, so we're delighted to get him on board."

We will have in-depth interviews with both El Bakhtaoui and Hippolyte inside this Thursday's Press Sport.