Crazy Dreams

Programme Column (v Queen of the South - 25/4/87)

I promised then that Dunfermline Athletic would pull out all the stops to ensure that the dream of Premier League football at East End Park would become a reality. Hopefully that promise will shortly be fullfilled.

The statisticians tell me that we need only take one point from today's meeting with Queen of the South to make sure of the step up but that also raises the question of another promise I made.

In one of my perhaps rasher moments I apparently also predicted that we could go up as champions, the first club ever to make the move from Second to Premier Divisions in consecutive seasons as title-winners. That too is still on the cards.

But while everyone here at east End park is still confident of keeping their word to the fans there is still the chance that our dreams could be turned into nightmares and we must take every precaution to prevent this.

No game has been easy this season and I have particular reason to be anxious this afternoon.

Queen of the South moved up with us from the Second Division but the now find themselves lying in the bottom half of the middle league. But I do not need to remind anyone of their fighting spirit which was shown in the run-in to the Championship last season and their current position belies their true abilities.

The men from Dumfries will not have forgotten how we pipped them at the post and they will be going all out to do us no favours here today.

Hopefully we have learned a lesson from last week's meeting with Brechin City which proved that no team can be taken too lightly on our way towards the Premier League.

Fortunately our fellow contenders were not able to take advantage of our own slip-up last Saturday and the positions at the top remain unchanged. But how different that could have been.

We need to get back on winning ways and while some people are understandably nervous that must be put behind them to ensure that this proud club can say thank you to you the fans in the best way possible for your loyal support during the past 12 months.

Many fans here today will remember when Dunfermline Athletic were last at the top of Scottish football. Sadly many of the younger fans will never have had a taste of that wonderful feeling. Now we have the chance to rectify that situation and we will do it.

I am a man who keeps his promises and I am already looking forward to penning my first column as a new Premier League manager. Once we make it I cannot promise you promotion from there but we can always look forward to the prospect of bringing back European football to East End Park.

Now that would be a special way of saying thank you!