JOHN HUGHES has expressed his belief that there has been "a real connection" between his Pars players and supporters since arriving at the club.

And the East End boss hopes that his team will get them on the edge of their seats, and give them reasons to cheer, in Saturday's bottom-of-the-table showdown with Ayr United.

With three matches of the Championship season to go, Dunfermline find themselves in ninth place, which would consign them to the play-offs with the teams finishing second, third and fourth in League One.

They are six points ahead of bottom side Queen of the South - who visit Athletic on the final day - and three behind their opponents, who are eighth, on Saturday.

With former Pars favourite Lee Bullen's Honest Men also two goals better off, a victory for Hughes' team by two goals or more would lift them into a position of safety with two games to go.

It is set to be a nervy afternoon as the Pars go out for the win to put them in pole position to retain their Championship status, and the club are offering fans a cut-price ticket deal for the remaining two home games in a bid to fill the ground and ensure a large and vocal backing for their players.

When asked about how important fan backing would be, Hughes told Press Sport: "They'll play their part; we just need to entertain them.

"I keep saying to you, they know what they have to do, and I feel there's been a real connection, especially at home, from the fans and the players.

"I don't know if it's all the COVID and all the stuff now we're back in there.

"When we do the stuff I've just talked about, they get right behind the team, they get excited, so hopefully that will be the case on Saturday."

The things he had talked about were making sure that Dunfermline concentrate on their own performnance, and go out to entertain the crowd.

Their home form in 2022 certainly gives grounds for optimism, with Dunfermline unbeaten in six, winning three of them.

"We've had a lot of good results since I've come in. We've played a lot of good stuff, but you can't just sit back and rest on your laurels," Hughes continued.

"Come a Saturday, you need to turn up and get ready to go. We're playing against an Ayr United team that's more than capable of beating us.

"In fact, they've beat us down there (in September), we got a 1-1 draw on a terrible, windy day (in February), and weren't great in the second half.

"The teams are very very close, so we're going to have to be at it, right from the start, and make sure they know they're in a game.

"That's one thing I've noticed about the Championship; on any given day, everybody's capable of beating each other. Everybody's got three or four players that you'd say aye, they would get in my team. Everybody.

"Everybody's got a different style and it's fine margins. It's all about what happens on the day, and if you're not at it, you'll come unstuck.

"There's many a time I think we've been unlucky, but that's part and parcel of the game as well. What we have to do is we have to try and be at our best, concentrate on the performance, knowing if we perform, that's entertaining the supporters.

"That's what we need to do. We need to entertain our fans, and that's getitng forward, getting on the front foot, and taking the game to the opposition.

"If we can do that, hopefully we can get the result."

He added: "It's not easy; it's easy talking about it.

"As I say, you're playing against teams that are tactically switched on, and every team that you play against, there's three or four players in that team that you'd say, I would take him, I would take him.

"As I say, it's fine margins, and it's mostly what happens on the day."

For ticket information, visit the club's website by following this link.