Dunfermline: Chairman updates on signings and training ground

The club's chairman and CEO is confident that keeping key players free from long-term injuries, which blighted their last campaign, alongside their new signings, will leave them in a strong position to have a successful season.

In a wide-ranging update, released last week, Cook offered insight into the club's recruitment process, which so far has seen them bring in forward Chris Kane, attacking midfielder David Wotherspoon, and left back Kieran Ngwenya.

"We're aware that some supporters were expecting us to be, or hoping, that we were going to be active with eight to ten signings," he explained.

"The reality is, coming off the back of last season, we had a ridiculous injury situation. It's well documented and been well spoken about.

"We had 15 players, first team players, under contract coming back to this season. First and foremost, we needed to get them coming back to pre-season in really good condition, so that we could have a really strong pre-season and start well.

"This season, for us, was always about being prudent and adding quality to that group.

"There was never an intention to sign eight to ten players, so the focus was on signing players of a quality in areas that we'd identified.

David Cook has given insight into the club's recruitment plan. (Image: Craig Brown.)

"Chris Kane came in and had a loan spell last season, and did really well. We assessed our options and we felt that Chris Kane was our number one priority target, as a striker, to enhance that group.

"We were able to secure him early on. Time will be the test of that, but we think he'll be a really strong signing for us.

"We identified an experienced player in the attacking midfield area and David Wotherspoon was our first target.

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"Obviously he was a player that we were close to signing last year. We weren't able to get it over the line, but we retain a strong relationship with him, and to get David done before any of the competitive matches as well was an important one.

"Josh Edwards moved on, got a great opportunity down in League One (in England, with Charlton Athletic), so he goes with our blessing, and thank him for five great years with us as well.

"Early, we identified Kieran Ngwenya as somebody we thought of as a very similar profile of athleticism and ability to get up and down the left. Again, priority one target in the left back area, we were able to sign.

"They're three crucial signings we think for the season ahead. Getting players back, though, a fit Kyle Benedictus is like a new signing for us.

"Bene had such a difficult year last year and, as a group, we suffered from that.

"Getting players back consistently, and being able to get them on the grass this year, we feel that we've got nucleus of a strong group."

Off the pitch, Cook said that the Pars are beginning to "see the fruits" of having their own training base at Rosyth.

In April, the first phase of work at the site, located at the former Civil Service Sports Centre on Castle Road, was completed, allowing the first team squad to train there.

Dunfermline's players have been using their new Rosyth training base during pre-season. (Image: Craig Brown.)

Modular changing rooms and facilities have subsequently arrived, and Cook continued: "The whole pre-season's been done out of the Rosyth training ground.

"This week, we've had the modular changing rooms and facilities that have been dropped down onto the site. We've just got to do a little bit more of the connecting and the ground work around that, and then that site is operational fully for the next 12 months.

"All of our academy teams will be in there and, in addition to that, the community teams that currently play at different venues are likely to go in there.

"It's great that we're using it on a day in, day out basis. Over the summer, before pre-season had even started, we were seeing the benefits of Rosyth. We were seeing groups of the young players, and the first teamers, going down there and doing a little bit of extra.

"We had the manager taking small groups in there before pre-season started to work with them on specific things, and prep them as best as we possibly could ahead of pre-season.

"That's us starting to see the fruits of having our own training ground like that."