East Fife boss hopeful side will be on the ball after break

This week’s announcement by the Scottish Football Association bringing a halt to all games below Championship level will see the Fifers sit it out until a scheduled game at Montrose on Saturday, February 6.

At the moment, that remains the best-case scenario for the club and it’s hoped there will be no further delays.

Boss Young won’t now see his players until they get again together when they’re allowed, but he has every faith in them to retain their current fitness levels away from the club.

He said: “It’s a nightmare, but we just need to do what we can. We can’t train now.

“It’s just at a complete standstill until the end of the month, but it’ll be similar to the first time around when we were saying we’d see how it is in three weeks.

“We have to accept it, and first and foremost it’s about safety.

“I don’t know if it makes, sense, though, that there are part-time teams in the Championship who can play.

“We should be OK. Three weeks isn’t too long.

“The players will be away doing their own stuff.

“It’s six sessions and three games, so it’s not too bad from that side of things.

“If it’s a case of us being back on the Tuesday and Thursday before a game on the Saturday, I’d be all right with that.

“We’re going to be playing midweeks all the way through now with one training session, which is fine.”

Ahead of Saturday’s cup tie against Tranent Juniors, Thomas Collins headed on loan to Stenhousemuir and Jack Hamilton returned to Livi.