Three points are simply a must for East Fife

Kyle Connell tries his luck against Airdrie on Saturday. Pic by Kenny Mackay

It’s very much advantage Dumbarton in the race to stay in League One, Sons being seven points ahead of East Fife with just 12 to play for.

There’s no margin for error now and East Fife know they really to have to pick up every point available.

Of course, even that still might not be enough but, with Dumbarton yet to travel to title-chasers Airdrie and Cove Rangers, there is a strong possibility they may suffer at least a couple of defeats between now and the end of the campaign.

East Fife have to put themselves into a position to capitalise on any slip-up.

Boss Stevie Crawford took in the Spiders’ weekend match against Cove, a game which ended 1-1.

“We got ourselves to within touching distance a couple of weeks ago but have had a couple of flat performances,” conceded the Fife boss.

"I can’t fault the boys for putting themselves on the line when, under different circumstances, I’d be able to freshen up the rotation.

"It’s very much now just taking on the Queen’s Park game.

"There’s no point looking ahead to Falkirk the following week.

"We have to take the Queen’s Park game for what it is and it’s outwith our hands what Dumbarton do.

"We’ll do our homework and make sure the boys get recovery.

"We’re towards the tail-end of the season now so it’s not about pushing them. It’s more about keeping them fresh for the weekend.

“I thought Queen’s Park were good on Sunday against Cove Rangers, albeit it’s not a great surface.

"They still tried to play and that’s a challenge we’ll face.

"It’ll be a tough game but one I’m looking forward to.”

The Firhill surface is now struggling to cope with the volume of games being played on it but boss Crawford said that would be no excuse.

"They didn’t use the pitch as an excuse at the weekend. They tried to play,” he added.

"We also have to play to our strengths at the weekend because we have to win at some cost. I’m not fussy whether we go route one and put pressure on them or whether we try to play through the middle.

"We just have to earn the three points – it’s as simple as that.”