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Saturday’s 2-0 loss was the Sons’ fourth on the bounce and came against a rejuvenated East Fife who have lost just once in their last seven.

And while the visitors trudged off the field, heads down, to the sound of their fans booing, East Fife were visibly lifted by the positive atmosphere around Bayview, helped by hundreds of children, part of East Fife Community FC, who had been invited by the club.

Manager Stevie Crawford knows there’s still work to do and insists nobody is getting carried away.

Danny Denholm celebrates after putting East Fife two goals up against Dumbarton on Saturday. Pic by Kenny Mackay

But the boss also knows that Saturday’s ninth-placed visitors, the first team in East Fife’s sights, left the kingdom in no doubt that his side are up for a survival battle.

Crawford said: “Dumbarton’s destiny is still in their own hands, but one thing they will know is that they were in a game on Saturday.

“They know we have a fighting spirit in the group and it wasn’t a lucky performance or a performance out of the blue.

“There’s been a consistency, but we still have to concentrate on what we do.

“We have Peterhead still to play, Alloa still to play, and can still pull back teams above us to get on level terms.

“Saturday was a massive one for us and there was nothing more pleasing than seeing the players at the end going over to the young fans and signing autographs because that feelgood factor is important.”

East Fife will look to build on their positive momentum this week when they make the trip to face Clyde at Broadwood.

The mid-table Bully Wee have managed to edge away from relegation trouble over the past couple of months, and boss Crawford knows it’ll be a tough afternoon.

“In their last five games, they’ve drawn three and lost two, but in the period before that, they had a ridiculous return and won a few on the bounce,” said the manager.

“Danny Lennon and Allan Moore will have them well organised, that’s a given.

“They had a tough game up at Cove on Saturday and they’ll throw a different challenge at us.”

Stewart Murdoch is likely to miss the weekend’s game due to injury.

East Fife have a feel-good factor after Dumbarton win