IF the likes of Crawley Town had their way, Ewan Otoo wouldn't have been thumping the first goal of Dunfermline's league season in off the bar on Saturday.

The all action midfielder was the subject of a number of bids before the transfer window shut - none came anywhere near the club's valuation of the 22-year-old - but shrugged off the speculation to turn in a man of the match display.

Otoo said: "I guess I was aware of it but it was in the background.

"I just let it happen around me, I was more focused on my football here.

"That's the priority for me. I didn't want to get bogged down in all that kind of stuff.

"Whatever happens around me happens but I wasn't paying too much attention."

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Speculation will end for now, with the transfer window now closed, and Otoo agreed: "I guess that 100 per cent certainty does make a bit of a difference and just allows you to completely focus on your football and keep improving from here."

Pars boss James McPake said: “There have been two clubs that we have knocked bids back for him.

"That’s not easy for a young kid when you think that you are getting the opportunity.

"It’s not to say he wanted to leave, that’s not the case but when there are things in the press and you are hearing that there’s bids coming in, it's not easy."

Dunfermline knocked back two low bids for midfielder Ewan Otoo. Dunfermline knocked back two low bids for midfielder Ewan Otoo. (Image: Craig Brown)

He went on: “I wish some of the articles - that we have knocked back a decent bid for Ewan Otoo - would tell the truth. The bids were nowhere near the value that we set.

"The club showed that they just weren’t going to sell to anybody.

"Now he can go and play freer, go and get his form back. I thought he was excellent today, his best game in a while by a mile."

If the Pars midfielder was affected by transfer speculation, it never showed against Ayr as he smashed in a brilliant goal and put in a top display, making tackles and interceptions and starting attacks in a much-improved display from the team.

Otoo had two paper stitches put in a head cut but, typical of the man, shrugged it off and played on.

His good friend, Pars new on-loan goalie Tobi Oluwayemi, admitted his pal wasn't known for his stunning long range shooting.

And Otoo laughed: "No, to be fair I don't think I've scored one as good as that, hopefully that's something I can unlock going forward. I'd like more of them but I'm happy with that one.

"He's a brilliant goalie which you saw today. Hopefully we can keep getting performances out of him and that will take us where we want to go."

Otoo said the pair have been tight since their days at Celtic but he still won't give him a lift!

He explained: "No, unfortunately I've had to be quite stern with that!

"There's a number of boys in the car already so I can't give him a lift to training, but he understands that."

He went on: "Me and Tobi have been good friends for a number of years now, really close and close families.

"He knew the project here was for him, I didn't have to do much convincing in that regard. He was on board anyway."

Asked if Oluwayemi had been to see him play at the Pars, he recalled: "I'm not sure. Last season, the game at Partick Thistle where we won 3-1, he was definitely at that game and he was quite impressed as well.

"Maybe that stuck in his mind and the decision to come here."

Asked if it was a relief to get the first point - and goal - of the league season, Otoo said: "Yeah, it can hang over you but we never really got too down about it or focused on it too much.

"It was just about working hard in training.

"We know the quality we have in the group and we were going to find performances and find points eventually, so let's hope it's the start of something."