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In desperate need of the three points, the Pars cannot afford to perform as they have been doing in the majority of the matches so far this season.
Easier said than done!
The Pars, going into the match without captain Scott Thomson and influential midfielder Barry Nicholson, undoubtedly face a test of character more than anything else this Sunday. With the team bereft of confidence ever since Hay's arrival, a win would give the players and fans a much-needed morale boost.
With the confidence already drained, the Pars players would do well not to look at there recent record at Rugby Park - or indeed against Kilmarnock in general. The Pars have only managed two wins out of the last ten matches against Kilmarnock. More encouraging is the fact that the last victory came in the last match between the two sides - the Pars winning 2-1 thanks to a header from Barry Nicholson and an excellent Stevie Crawford striker which cancelled out a Danny Invincible opener for Killie.
The last match between the two sides at Rugby Park, back in January, was a fairly dull affair ending in a 1-1 draw. A first-half penalty from Gary McSwegan was cancelled out by a Stevie Crawford header midway through the second-half. Oh how we could be doing with Mr Crawford these days!
With a total of 101 games played between the two sides over the years, the Ayrshire club edge it in terms of victories, Jim Jefferies men with a total of 37 wins as opposed to Dunfermline's 35. A statistic mainly due to the fact that the Pars have only won 12 matches out of 50 played at Rugby Park, losing 18.
So the statistics would not exactly point in the favour of the Pars for Sunday's fixture, but do they ever? The stats didn't exactly point to the Icelandic amatuers FH sending us crashing out of Europe either, did they?!
If the Pars are to defy the odds and beat a Kilmarnock side on the back of two straight defeats this Sunday then the passing game, which has proudly graced East End Park over the past few years, will HAVE to return!
If Davie Hay has any desire at all to keep his job, he will need to ditch the long-ball style as a matter of urgency.
With a large majority of Pars fans already keen to see Hay get his marching orders - with some even sounding out possible replacements - this game will be absolutely crucial to the Pars manager, with a win the only possible scenario!!!