Dunfermline's James McPake on Queen's Park and boss Callum Davidson

The Dunfermline boss is set to welcome the pair to KDM Group East End Park on Saturday for a rearranged clash with the Spiders, which was originally due to be played in early December, just 15 days after the teams met at Hampden.

Athletic were beaten 2-1 in that encounter by the Glasgow side, who were led by Paul Nuijten and former Kelty Hearts captain, Tam O'Ware, having taken over an interim basis from previous head coach, Robin Veldman.

The Pars lost to Queen's Park in their last Championship game earlier this month. (Image: Craig Brown.)

Davidson, who had a short spell working at East End as a coach under then boss Stevie Crawford during the 2018/19 season, was appointed by Queen's Park last week, with former St Johnstone team-mate Craig taking up the role of his assistant.

Their first game in charge was an impressive win at Raith Rovers on Saturday, and McPake praised the "fantastic" job he felt Davidson did at St Johnstone, where he memorably guided them to a Scottish Cup and League Cup double in 2021.

"Personally, I'm delighted to see Callum back in," McPake said.

"I think he did a fantastic job at St Johnstone. He and Liam Craig are two very good people first and foremost, and, hopefully after Saturday, they go on and do well.

Callum Davidson had a short spell working with Dunfermline as a coach during the 2018/19 season. (Image: Craig Brown.)

"In terms of Queen's Park, it was another great result for them away to Raith on Saturday. They do carry threats - we know they've got some very good players. We need to try and nulify that and, just like every week, work on how we can hurt the other teams.

"They're coming full of confidence. It's back to back wins for them and they'll be feeling a lot better about themselves because of that. Obviously, with a new manager in as well, he has new ideas. That's nothing against the old manager but, personally knowing Callum and Liam, they'll go in, and they'll be enthusiastic about the way that they train and work."

For Dunfermline's part, they'll be aiming to end a run of five games without a victory, and two successive defeats.

McPake was critical of his team's performance last time out at Hampden, suggesting that their opponents "wanted it more than us".

"We'll be looking for an improved performance," he continued.

"We will have a stronger squad than what we had at Hampden that night, albeit it's still early in the week and, as we know, things can happen in training with injuries and illnesses, but, at the minute, the squad is stronger. It's in a better place.

"We need to get back to performing well. Everything is about the result, but I'm constantly saying that if you're performing at a level consistently, that's normally when the results do come. That's what we're working on."