PRE-SEASON training for the Pars players will be the "toughest they've ever done" as they bid to work their way back to the Championship.

New boss James McPake, who has added Alan Main as goalkeeping coach and is about to welcome a new assistant, will accept nothing less than maximum effort from his team.

He also said the new training ground at Rosyth, one of the factors that persuaded him to take the Pars job, is almost ready with the club set to move there next month.

Dunfermline are one of the first teams to return to training and McPake said: "It'll be a real hard pre-season and I make no apologies for that.

"If they don't want to do it that's up to them, but they won't play in the team.

"I always hated it myself but I knew how important it was.

"At the end of that five or six weeks, you feel a million dollars and games become easier.

"I'll go as far as saying it'll be the toughest they've ever done."

McPake feared he'd find a squad of players still "sulking" after relegation but has detected a "good feeling" and a quiet determination in the ranks.

He added: "One thing this team will do is work hard. The schedule's tough but football's tough, this league is tough.

"We are where we are for a reason. We weren't good enough, now we need to find ways of winning football games."

From the team that started the last match against Queen's Park on May 7, Pars have lost seven players: Jakub Stolarczyk, Efe Ambrose, Coll Donaldson, Lewis Martin, Steven Lawless, Liam Polworth and Ryan Dow, while Dan Pybus, Dom Thomas, Bobby Kamwa and Neil Alexander have also departed East End Park.

McPake has signed midfielder Chris Hamilton and said: "There's a lot of work going on in the background. We have to be realistic as well.

"We've dropped a division, the budgets are smaller, we're one of the first clubs back as well and a lot of players we're speaking to are still on holiday.

"There's no rush and there's no panic.

"The squad-building will continue. We'll lose out on some, we lost out on one that I won't name because he didn't want to come to League One.

"I want players that want to come in and buy into this football club and come on the journey with us, because if we get this place going, what a place it could be."

Asked about Graham Dorrans' future, with the skipper admitting after the Queen's game that he'd have to assess his options, the boss said: "There's been no indication from Graham, one way or another, what he wants to do.

"Graham will come and see me when he decides.

"If we keep him fit, we've got a top player, but it's where Graham sees himself and his career and we'll be respectful of that."

On the advice of Greg Shields, who will now look after the academy, McPake has promoted five young recruits to the first team squad for pre-season training.

They include the 'son of Tod', former Pars favourite Andy Tod's 16-year-old son, Andrew, a midfielder, as well as goalie Calum Archibald, 17, defender Sam Young, 16, and 17-year-old midfielders Jake Rennie and Michael Beagley.

Four are local lads from West Fife.

McPake has a well-earned reputation for trusting in youth and he said: "When you think of the clubs in this country that have their own training grounds, there's not many.

"The club is investing a lot of money and we've got our own academy again which is great as I want academy players out on that pitch.

"We've got a full-time goalkeeping coach in Alan Main, who's had a fantastic career, so it's looking good.

"I'm looking forward to it."