Source: Team_Talk
Easton issues rallying call
Craig Easton has challenged Dunfermline to perform to their potential ahead of Hearts' visit to East End Park in the SPL on Saturday.[LNB] The Fifers have endured a poor run of form in recent weeks, having failed to register a single win in six outings, including a 2-1 defeat to local Irn-Bru Second Division rivals East Fife which saw the club crash out of the Scottish Communities League Cup.[LNB]And consecutive 4-0 defeats - the last of which came against Aberdeen - hardly sent McIntyre's charges into the international break in the happiest of moods.[LNB]Yet Easton, who joined the club in September, believes an upturn in form is merely a matter of time having seen the quality in the Pars squad.[LNB]"We're better than what we showed against Aberdeen," a defiant Easton said.[LNB]"Having seen the boys in training and, on occasion, in the matches I can see the quality there.[LNB]"That match was disappointing. They were the better side and seemed to want the result more. If anything they could have won the match by more.[LNB]"It's frustrating for everybody, including myself.[LNB]"We know how much better we are than the performance we turned in last time out. People see 4-0 on the score-sheet, and that was a fair result, but we don't want it to happen again. We'll use that as a motivation and try to bounce back.[LNB]"But I know that if we show the quality we have then it will be different this weekend."[LNB]Pars boss Jim McIntyre made his entire squad sit through a rerun of the dismal defeat to Aberdeen and he hopes that video nasty can help inspire the players to reach the levels Easton believes they are capable of.[LNB]"We deserved the criticism which came our way after the Aberdeen game," the former Dundee United man admitted.[LNB]"We were well below what was expected. It wasn't good enough and the players know that.[LNB]"It is now up to the players to make amends.[LNB]"But I don't want to make more out of the current run than what it is. The players have come up from the First Division and for the most part they have done very well. All I ask is that if we lose then we lose in the right way; fighting for every ball."[LNB]Hearts manager Paulo Sergio has also set a challenge to his players, as they seek their first away win of the season on the back of their 2-0 Tynecastle victory over Celtic.[LNB]"It's now a challenge for us to show the same desire to win against Dunfermline," he said.[LNB]"It's a dangerous game, I respect all my opponents. I know they don't have the results they want at the moment but I have seen them play and I know they can do things well.[LNB]"I don't have to remind people that we haven't won away from home this season and now is the time to do that."
