DAN PYBUS is relishing being reunited with some old pals on Saturday but he’s in no mood to be charitable in the hunt for points.

After two years with Queen of the South, the 23-year-old returns to Palmerston this weekend for the first time as Dunfermline play their final match before the international break.

Following the rearranged Fife derby at Raith Rovers last night (Wednesday), which ended in a 1-1 draw, Peter Grant’s side are winless in seven Championship outings, although they did secure a second successive scoreless draw against Hamilton Academical on Saturday.

Pybus, one of Athletic’s better performers in the match, admitted he was disappointed they didn’t earn their first three points of the season but is adamant that they are in a false position.

Speaking to Press Sport this week ahead of the Stark’s Park clash, the Englishman is looking forward to going back to his old stomping ground – even if he isn’t sure what sort of reception he’ll get from the Doonhamers faithful.

“As long as we get three points I don’t care what reception I get,” he said.

“For me, it will be nice to go back there and see some familiar faces. I owe that club a lot for taking me in and giving me two great seasons there.

“I’ll be delighted to go back and, obviously, there’s fans in the ground. I don’t know what reception I’ll get but it’ll still be enjoyable to go down and see familiar people.

“They’ve started alright – I think the last couple of games they’ve been defeated in, but only narrow defeats – so it’s always going to be a hard game there.

“I played there for two years; I know what the pitch is like and how horrible it can make the game. Everyone knows the pitch isn’t great but, at the same time, the pitch is the same for all 22 players.

“You can’t use it as an excuse; again, you might need to play a different style of football there but it’s about winning your battle and coming away with a victory.”

When asked whether he felt it was a case of going back to basics to arrest Dunfermline’s alarming early-season form, Pybus replied: “I think maybe at times we did overplay a bit as players, and in the last few games we’ve probably gone a bit more direct. For whatever reason, we’ve kept clean sheets. I think there’s been less individual errors which cost a lot of the goals leading up to the last couple of games.

“I wouldn’t say going back to basics, I just think we’re tighter and we’re not overplaying. I think, at the same time, we do need to probably play a bit more and create a few more chances as well.

“I don’t think it takes a genius to realise that we were conceding too many goals and it was an uphill challenge before the game had even really got going in some of the games.

“We’ve got a very strong squad, a very strong team. We shouldn’t be in the position we’re in but we are. We need to all just knuckle down and defensively be solid, first and foremost, and then we just need the luck to swing and when it does swing, I’m sure we’ll score many goals.

“Dunfermline’s a club where you want to be playing attractive football but also this league is a league where, to get promoted, you can play a nasty game if you want to call it that. We’ve put in some decent performances, we’ve put in one or two terrible ones, and we’ve put in some OK ones. I think the main thing is we need that bit of luck. I think winning and then having a two-week break would be massive.”

Pybus also spoke to the Press following the draw in Kirkcaldy, which he felt was the right result after a much improved second half from the Pars.

"Obviously we came on the back of two decent results after the three defeats in a row," he noted.

"First half I think everyone probably knew it wasn't good enough; I think we were a yard off them for whatever reason. The gaffer changed it at half time, put two forwards on, and I think we were a lot better.

"We got at them a lot more, we created a lot of chances and you look at the second half - there's a goal, a potential penalty and an offside goal disallowed. Overall, a much better half, but it needs to be like that from the word go.

"Most teams would probably take a point here. We obviously want to be coming and winning, so it's not the result ever, but they played well first half. We were probably the better team second half, so overall it's probably a deserved draw."