Young: Fifers fit for purpose

The Methil men played two games within the space of 24 hours last week, recording a 1-1 draw with Welsh Europa League hopefuls The New Saints and a 3-0 win over East of Scotland Football League club St Andrews United

A visit from Championship side Queen of the South on Tuesday night marked another step up a level ahead of two final matches against Dundee North End and Burntisland Shipyard.

That will lead Young’s men into the Premier Sports Cup group-section ties, with the next League One season to follow, and the 42-year-old says his squad are shaping up well.

“We’ve had two good games and I’m really impressed with how the boys did against TNS,” he said.

“It was a game we knew would probably be the hardest of our pre-season, but I thought we stood up to it well.

“The young guys we played all did well and it was good to see them tested against full-time opposition.

“I was really pleased with how things went.

“The main thing for us it get through these games with no injuries and for the players to work as hard as they can.

“Whatever the score is, it is. I’m not worried about that.

“Against St Andrews, that was a different game where we had a lot more possession and managed to get a lot of boys on.

“It was good to get a few goals and we maybe could have had more, but they defended well.”

As is normal over pre-season, the club have been casting an eye over several trialists, all hoping to do enough to win contracts.

Dundee youth player Adam Mansouri, who had a spell recently with Kennoway Star Hearts, is one of them, as are fellow youngsters Michael Cunningham, Lewis Anderson and Mac Whyte.

“We’ll probably speak to a few of the guys after the Queen of the South game,” added Young.

“We’ll take it from there, but we’re still on the lookout for a few players.”

Striker Sean Brown might return for this week’s matches after suffering a foot knock in the game against TNS last Tuesday.

East Fife’s remaining home friendly games remain behind closed doors.