BRUCE ANDERSON has hailed the impact Stevie Crawford has had on his game and says he can fire his side into promotion contention.

The on-loan Aberdeen striker, who arrived at East End on transfer deadline day, helped propel the Pars to a convincing victory over Partick Thistle on Tuesday night by netting twice either side of a Danny Devine header in the second half.

After scoring on his debut against Ross County, Anderson, 20, now has three goals in four appearances to his name and Crawford said that he was “thankful that Aberdeen have loaned him out to us because he’s going to be a right good player” after the match.

Three successive victories have taken Dunfermline to within two points of Inverness, who occupy fourth place and the final Premiership play-off slot, and a win over Queen of the South on Saturday will ensure the clubs swap places.

Speaking to Press Sport after his double-salvo – which saw him afforded a standing ovation as he was substituted in the final moments – Anderson said: “As a striker, you’re looking to score as many goals as you can and, luckily enough for me, the ball’s fallen in the right place and I’m there at the right time. I’m happy to go home with two goals.

“I’ve been working on different movements in training, and trying to judge where the ball will land, and that’s what happened there. I saw Danny jump up (for the opener) and I thought, where could this ball land, and I just managed to put myself into a position to score.

“I work on it every day, my movement, so it’s not just all natural; it’s hard work and dedication.

“I’ve only been here three or four weeks and already I feel stronger and sharper. I think that’s just down to playing games, and that was the main thing for me.

“I was desperate to play really, so I think it’s going to benefit me in the long run, coming here and playing.

“The gaffer is brilliant. As I’ve said before, he’s played the same position as me and I’m learning from him every day. I’m just really enjoying it, I’m taking advice on board and I think he’ll make me a better player.

“I’m loving it and I think coming here was the best thing I could’ve done to be honest with you. I’m enjoying every minute of it and I feel as though I’m getting stronger and better, so I’m delighted with the way things are going so far.

“But I want to keep it going; I’m not satisfied with three. I’ll look forward to Saturday now and hopefully I can grab a few more then.”

Three wins in the space of 10 days have moved a Dunfermline side that had gone five games without one in all competitions up to fifth in the table and, importantly, nine points clear of the bottom two clubs.

They will tackle a Queens side that have lost five Championship games in a row, and Anderson continued: “I think we’ll take one game at a time and look forward to Saturday but there’s no reason why we can’t go on a run of games and push ourselves to the play-offs.

“That’s what we’re aiming to do and we’ll look to Saturday, try to get another win, and see where that takes us.

“I couldn’t believe where we were at when I first came in with the quality of players. I saw them train and I couldn’t quite believe how far down the table we were, but there’s a real togetherness with us now and, hopefully, that will see us climb up the table and keep grabbing points.

“I think some of the boys were saying that, maybe a couple of months ago, we wouldn’t have got through that without conceding a goal. Thankfully for us, we pull up our socks and we grind it out.

“I think that shows the togetherness we’ve got. It’s a tight-knit group and, ever since I came, we’re always one, we fight for each other and want to do well for each other, and I think you see that on the pitch.”