DUNFERMLINE star Ewan Otoo believes that hosting the league leaders under the lights and live on TV is one to relish after their derby setback.

And the 21-year-old insists that he and his team-mates remaining positive is key to finding a performancecapable of toppling Dundee United at KDM Group East End Park tomorrow evening.

The Pars, after a three-match unbeaten run, welcome the Tangerines for a televised BBC Scotland clash on the back of two successive defeats, the second of which was at Raith Rovers on Saturday.

The short trip along the A92 proved fruitless for Athletic, as a goal in each half from Sam Stanton and Dylan Easton condemned them to a fourth loss from four against their Kirkcaldy neighbours in this season's Championship meetings.

It was also an historic fifth win in a row for Rovers in the derby, having also won a Scottish Cup encounter earlier in the campaign, and Otoo admitted it was a frustrated away dressing room post-match.

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However, he believes that the visit of Jim Goodwin's team, who are looking to move four points clear of Raith at the summit, is a good game for the Pars, who are just one point above second bottom Inverness Caledonian Thistle, to have next.

"We'll be lively, it'll always be lively. Being positive is the best way to get the best out of the group," Otoo told Press Sport.

"We all know that, so we'll all definitely be lively and positive this week going into that game.

"They're the best sort of games. They're the games you want to play in and, especially after the kind of game we had on Saturday, it'll be the best sort of game to bounce back in and give us confidence going into the final part of the season. We're all really looking forward to it.

"I think every game that we've played against Dundee United in the league this season have all been really tight. I think we've given a good account of ourselves in every game that we have played against them, so we're looking to do the same things.

Hopefully, if we can keep up the good stuff we've been doing, we can go and get a positive result. It's all about trying to get a positive performance and hopefully the result comes with it.

"I think there's no question we can compete against the top sides in the league, but it's just the fine margins that we need to start getting to go our way. Hopefully, once we find a way to move those fine margins in our favour, then we'll be able to get positive results."

A win would take Dunfermline into sixth place, above Queen's Park on goal difference, ahead of the rest of the weekend's fixtures, which include Inverness hosting Ayr United, who sit eighth, also just one point above the Highlanders.

"That's the positive of getting to play on the Friday night before everyone else does. It allows us to go and put a performance in and hopefully put ourselves in a good position, where it puts pressure on the other teams around us to go and get results as well," Otoo continued.

"We can only start by doing our job first and foremost and then let the rest take care of itself.

"The message has been clear the whole season - just take it game by game. If you start to look at the permutations and things like that, the league's mental. After one game, it can be looking completely different from the next game, so I think it's important not to get too caught up and looking too far ahead.

"We need to focus on a game at a time and see where it takes us."