The Stevenson Rant

And now the end is near, and so we face, the final curtain. That is one line that could have been used prominently over the last few weeks or months as a Pars fan. Nearly every single Pars fan that I knew had given up faith. The hope had gone, that Saturday morning feeling of wakening up catching Helen and that new character on Soccer AM, heading down the local greasy spoon, hitting the bookies, hitting the boozer for opening, that first jar down the neck, the walk from the Lizzy to East End, witnessing the game, calling the ref a clown, firing back on the lash after the match, few games of killer, the banter on the train home, the local boozer for banter with the wee team boys at night, a local flamenco band belting out a few Aerosmith numbers late at night - the want was no longer there. I know I can't speak for everyone but for me that hope and most importantly want of that Saturday feeling had gone.

Years ago, or even months ago for that matter I wouldn't have contemplated missing a match on a Saturday. This season has been oh so different, up in the morning, down the bookies and then back home to watch some corporate Man City Fulham bore fest before switching over for Geoff Stelling and the gang. Instead of throwing a Pot Noodle at the tele when the Pars lost a goal there was no feeling of anger like previous seasons, it was more a case of 'ah here we go again'.

Some could argue that Saturday feeling had gone as we had a couple of stupid Sunday matches to play because of qualification for Uefa's diddy cup. But we didn't really want to be involved it that anyway. Honest!!

Some will argue as to where it all went wrong, if you look across onto another Dunfermline's fans website you will see various keyboard warriors going hammer and tong and trying to point the blame at someone. 'It's aw big bad Nipper and Robbo's fault', 'Naw it izny, a blame Leishman', 'Naw yer wrong it's yon Paddy and Mick that's been at the healm since last November that is to blame'. No matter what your average keyboard warrior says or average fan for that matter, change had to happen.

Whether it was the manager that got the boot, the players, big Leish or even big Senga working behind the desk in the ticket office something had to give and at the end of the day it is the manager that is responsible for fielding the team, motivation and tactics.

Make no mistake about it I am as equally if not more pissed off at the player's than I was with the manager. The player's are on decent money and if they didn't want to play for the gaffer then they should have had enough in them to go out and put in a shift for the fans. I'm not a picky fan that will go ape if we lose a game, losing happens. The problem I had with the Pars under Kenny is from what I could see they weren't giving their all, several player's looked as though they were quite content with breezing into training, getting the match out of the way, picking up the pay cheque and firing home in a big flash car to a big 4 bedroom house.

I of course could be miles wrong with that assumption. It is known to be very difficult when it come to ridding yourself of a losing mentality. Look at East Stirling, they went 5 years with a losing mentality and couldn't get out of the rut. Look no further than England when it comes to witnessing teams going down the leagues quicker than a Leith hooker or a Hearts striker - Bradford City, Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and even teams like Swindon Town spring to mind. All have plied their trade in the Premiership at some point but are now struggling at the lower ends of the English leagues. Even in Scotland Partick Thistle experienced two relegations in two seasons. So it is not uncommon for a team to simply be just plain and utter shite.

But it is all irrelevant now, Kenny is gone and we must now look forward. Starting with Jimmy Mac at the healm in a 6 pointer against the Bully Wee on Saturday. The game is massive and I couldn't care if the player's decided to turn in a 5 star performance as long as we win. At the end of the day we are all Pars fans and we all want the Pars to win whether it is Stephen Kenny, Jimmy Mac or big Jock the Steward from Section E that is in charge, we all want the same thing - a Pars win.

So I urge all Pars fans out there to jump on the train, in the car, on a motor bike, walk, get a taxi, helicopter, aeroplane or even jump on a bike and cycle. But get along to East End and get behind the team, regardless of thought on the management, the chairman, the stewards or the tea lady. Get behind the players and try and help get us out of this mire that we are currently in. We can't get rid of the dross on the pitch until January so we are as well as making do with it for now until changes can be made.