NEW Pars boss James McPake has started to rebuild his squad after admitting he would have to have "tough" conversations with players.

And the new man in charge at East End is also keen to recruit staff to join him on his coaching team, but he admits he isn’t sure who those are yet just yet.

On Friday, it was revealed that out-of-contract players Leon Jones, Lewis Martin, Dan Pybus, Reece Cole, Steven Lawless and Ryan Dow would join Dom Thomas, who has signed for Queen's Park, in leaving.

Loan signings Coll Donaldson, who will join Falkirk when his Ross County contract expires, Jakub Stolarczyk, Efe Ambrose, Bobby Kamwa and Liam Polworth will also depart.

Speaking to Press Sport ahead of his unveiling last Tuesday, McPake said: "I can now, officially as the manager, speak to the players.

“I can get into their heads, get a feel for them. Are they my type? I know a few of them, personally, I know all of them, and what they bring and what they are.

“From Friday (prior to his appointment), I’ve studied the squad. I know what’s there.

“I’ll get to know them, I’ll get to look them in the eye and see if they’re the right type for Dunfermline to take us forward, and we’ll have those conversations.

“Will some of them be tough? Absolutely. But it’s tough getting relegated, and there’s a reason.

“That’s not putting blame just solely on the players, or any manager, but there’s a reason we’re in this league.

“That’s the history; now we look to the future and we get players in that we believe can help us.

“There’s some good quality here but we need to work that extra bit harder now to get on that upward trajectory.”

When asked if he had targets in mind on the playing side, he replied: “I’ve players in my mind from my previous job I was hoping to bring in and help us in the Premiership. Is that unrealistic? No.

“You can maybe sell this club to certain players. Some might not want to drop to League One, that’s fair enough. If they don’t want to come down here and be part of it then I wouldn’t want them here anyway.

“That’s not a threat but I want players that want to buy into this football club, and I’ve got my eye on a few.”

McPake is also on the lookout for coaching staff, with Steven Whittaker having joined Hughes in leaving East End.

The former Scotland international, who retired from playing last year to concentrate fully on a coaching role with Dunfermline, left the club to join former team-mate, and close friend, Scott Brown at Fleetwood Town, who appointed the Hill of Beath native as their new head coach.

“I’ve got my eye on a few but we’re in a bit of a difficult situation to say the least because there’s staff at other clubs,” McPake continued.

“Some of those other clubs are in the Premiership or the Championship, so are we in a position to offer them a package that would bring them to Dunfermline? I’m not quite sure but I’ve got my eye on a few that are out of work as well. I’ll now start the conversations with people I trust and people I know that can help me come in and help me as a manager.”