Too close for comfort

Graeme Macpherson
Football Writer

JIM JEFFERIES had a knack of sending shivers down the spines of Hibernian supporters during two spells as Hearts manager.

Less than a week into his new role as Dunfermline Athletic manager and he is at it again, his reputation alone enough to cause a few around Easter Road to glance somewhat nervously at the standings in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League table. They're not the only ones. There will be a few connected to Inverness Caledonian Thistle, St Mirren and Aberdeen shifting uneasily in their seats as well, wondering just what sort of impetus Jefferies can give to Dunfermline in what remains of the season.

Inverness' victory over Aberdeen on Saturday means they are now 11 points clear of Dunfermline with a game in hand – against St Johnstone tomorrow night – while St Mirren, following their draw at East End Park, are a point further ahead, with Aberdeen one ahead of them. All three, in theory, should be safe but there is something about the league split that gives hitherto hopeless teams a genuine shot at survival.

Playing against sides who, relatively speaking, have also endured something of a fruitless campaign, teams at the bottom of the table can suddenly start picking up valuable points, especially if the opposition believe their season is over and down tools. Only last season Hamilton Academical were able to close the gap on St Mirren from 12 points to three after the split (before eventually finishing seven adrift) and Dunfermline will be hoping that Jefferies' arrival will help them do something similar.

There wasn't a noticeable improvement in Dunfermline's standards on Saturday – they were surprisingly lackadaisical in the first half and gave away yet another soft goal from a set play – but Jefferies saw enough to spot what needs changing if his new team are to have a chance of staying up. "In the coming days and weeks, I'll be trying to avoid taking chances and lay a few ground rules," he said. "It's okay when you're halfway up the table, but when you're down here, you don't take risks."

Jefferies has tried his best to spin it so the story isn't about him trying to relegate Hibs, and his old friend Billy Brown, but that is effectively the crux of the matter. Results on Saturday mean the Easter Road club are now just three points clear with seven matches remaining and confidence ebbing away by the week. Dunfermline are hardly the country's form team – they have yet to win a game at home this season – but they at least have the benefit of a fresh start under a new manager to spur them on. Hibs did their best to play down talk of a training ground dust-up last week but it is apparent all is not well within their camp. Those who had hoped last year's 10th-place finish was merely a blip after six consecutive top-half finishes have been left sorely disappointed by another campaign of under-achievement.

Too big a club to be relegated? Tell that to Alex McLeish and the team of 1998 who finished four points adrift of safety after a disappointing season. The following year proved to be an exhilarating one for Hibs, most notably due to the arrivals of Russell Latapy and Frank Sauzee, but the humiliation of relegation for the first time since 1980 stung those involved. It is surely something Fenlon and his players will not wish to have on their cv.

"I'm sure Hibs fans were hoping that Dunfermline would just let things rumble on to the end and they would have enough to get through it," said Billy Dodds. "Personally I don't think Dunfermline should have got rid of Jim McIntyre but with Jim Jefferies going in there, players coming back from injury, and the gap down to just three points then Hibs are now in real trouble.

"I was in a relegation dogfight with Aberdeen but we had the mindset that we were going to do all we could to get out of it. I don't think Hibs have got that. Anyone who thinks they're too big or too good to go down needs to think again."

Dunfermline could not have it much harder this weekend, the fixture list sending them to Tannadice to face Dundee United, arguably the form side in the country, while the following week Jefferies will be reunited with his old Hearts team at East End Park. Hibs have to play catch-up on both weekends, travelling to Inverness this Sunday before hosting Motherwell at Easter Road seven days later. Then comes the split, when the pair will likely face matches against Kilmarnock, Aberdeen, St Mirren, Inverness and, of course, each other. "Both teams have terrible home records but as a Dunfermline player I wouldn't fancy going to Easter Road for that one," said Dodds.

"Dunfermline have got to keep the pressure on. If Hibs can stretch the lead to six or nine points then they may relax and start to play a bit better. But when it's as tight as this, or if Dunfermline can shrink the gap even more, then I don't think Hibs have a strong enough mentality to cope with it."

Taken from the Herald