Dunfermline: James McPake on Championship opener at Livingston

And boss James McPake believes that having faced today's opponents, Livingston, only a fortnight ago can help give his players belief they can emerge with a positive result.

After a disappointing Premier Sports Cup campaign, Athletic travel to West Lothian hoping to give their fans some optimism.

They've watched their team lose to Forfar Athletic and Cove Rangers at home, either side of a narrow loss at Livi, after beating The Spartans in their Group E opener.

Dunfermline, who are set to go into this afternoon's game without having signed another goalkeeper to challenge number one, Deniz Mehmet, finished fourth in their section, and those results, and performances, have left some supporters feeling apprehensive going into the league fixtures.

Although they were beaten by a goal to nil by David Martindale's side when they last faced off at the Home of the Set Fare Arena, however, McPake is hopeful his players can take belief from being competitive in the match.

"I think so because, as much as we can say to them we believe there's nothing between the teams, or they've got some good players but so we have we, and you're giving your opinion to the players that we believe that we're as good as them on our day, but certainly from the fact that we've played against them, there wasn't much in it at all," he said.

"It was a poor game.

"Any team could've won that 1-0 and I don't think anyone would've batted an eyelid.

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"It was a close game, both teams very limited in terms of the chances they created, but we showed we can go and compete with them.

"I think the players can take a bit of heart from that.

The Pars were beaten at Livi in the Premier Sports Cup last month. (Image: Craig Brown.)

"We'll go down there, put a team out, try to perform the way we can and come away with a positive result, hopefully all three points.

"We know it's going to be tough. They're the team that came down, they've had a lot of change of course over the summer, with a lot of players leaving and a lot of players coming in.

"They're probably still gelling or getting themselves together, but it will be a tough game. It's a tough start for us, but it's one we're looking forward to."

When asked if he was looking forward to the league season, McPake said: "Yeah, the highs and lows, and everything that goes with the Championship!

"When you come back, and it's not because we're out the cup, although, obviously, we'd love to still be in it, the big thing is the league, for every club. Every club's the same.

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"The ones that go through in the cup, the ones that don't, they're all still desperate to have a good league campaign and the excitement that surrounds the first game for every club.

"We're looking forward to it."

The Pars boss feels that having recently played the Lions is useful for "getting an eye on them", but anticipates a "completely different" match this afternoon.

"The footage we got from that game was our own," he continued.

"The cup's really difficult because it's not filmed, so trying to get any footage on another team is hard, so in terms of getting your video stuff, that helps, but the game will be completely different.

"It was a couple of weeks ago now, they've added a couple as well, and they've got a suspension that we know about as well.

"It helps in terms of the fact we've had an eye on them, but to be honest, we've had an eye on every team.

"I've been a manager since this new format's come in for the cup, I've never played in the format, but whether you qualify as a group winner and do great and go through, or whether you go out and have your own disappointing campaign, everything just starts from scratch on the first day of the season.

"The league is the one everyone is gearing up to. You're building towards the league starting.

"Just for the way the league is, I'd prefer it going back to what it was before - you start pre-season, your first game is your league, and then you get into the cup. That's maybe the romance of remembering football when your first game was always a league game.

"There's an excitement that comes with the league starting. The crowds will now pick up, everybody's crowds will pick up, atmospheres will get better as well.

"Even for teams that won every single game in their group, I can guarantee they're going into this weekend not even thinking about winning, or their performances in those games. They're now in thinking this is a fresh start, it's a brand new campaign, and eager to get off to a really good start this weekend.

"Every club up and down the country this season will be desperate for that."