Club History | Season 2024-2025

The end of the James McPake era, John McLaughlan`s caretaker success and the arrival of Neil Lennon and Iain Brunskill

The German owners had stabilised the club and there was some promising talent coming through the academy. However, the other side of the coin was that James McPake was being given next to no resources to bolster the team. As a result, the football on offer was not entertaining and now, to top it all, the Germans decided that their vision was not achievable and they looked to sell the Club.

There had been quite an exodus during and at the end of the previous season. Josh Edwards got a move to Charlton Athletic. Also leaving were: Paul Allan, Owen Moffat, Alex Jakubiak, Ben Summers, Malachi Fagan-Walcott, Myles Welch-Hayes, Brad Holmes, Harry Sharp, Miller Fenton, Xavier Benjamin, Max Little and Liam Hoggan. David Wotherspoon and Craig Clay were the only arrivals with significant experience, otherwise it was youngsters or loanees: Kieran Ngwenya, Tobi Oluwayemi, Sam Young, Josh Cooper, Dapo Mebude and Tommy Fogarty.

The season kicked off in mid July with a first competitive meeting with The Spartans, at Ainslie Park, in the League Cup. The 3-0 win included a goal from Taylor Sutherlland and debuts from Wotherspoon and Ngwenya. Any optimism was crushed when Forfar won 2-0 at East End Park. Hopes plummeted when a 1-0 defeat away to Livingston was followed by a 2-1 defeat at home to Cove Rangers.

August began with a 2-0 defeat at Almondvale followed by a 2-0 reverse at home to Falkirk. There were rumblings of unrest amongst the fans which deepened with yet another defeat, 1-0 away to Hamilton Accies. It was the last day of the month before the first point was won, after a 1-1 home draw against Ayr United. Everyone was heartbroken when Sol Bamba died suddenly when his illness flared up again.

September kicked off, with a win at last, 2-0 in the Challenge Cup at New Bayview. An exciting 2-0 win at home to Raith Rovers in the League, could not be sustained as two narrow defeats followed, 1-0 at Firhill and 2-1 against Queens Park, at East End.

The Excelsior was the first visit in October and The Pars escaped with a 1-1 draw. Progress was achieved in the Challenge Cup with a 2-1 home win over Kelty Hearts. A 0-0 draw at home to Morton was next on the agenda but in the following week another sad loss when Tom Callaghan passed away. Falkirk prevailed 2-1 at the Falkirk Stadium but the month ended well when Livingston were beaten 3-1 at East End Park.

November was to be a busy month with six games to navigate. It started badly with 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Partick Thistle and got worse when Athletic lost 2-1 away to Queens Park. The Challenge Cup was next and a Lewis McCann goal scraped The Pars through at home to Alloa. Mid month visitors Airdrie were beaten 1-0 in the League but the trip to Ayr ended with a 1-0 loss. Game number six was at Meadowbank in the Cup and a narrow 2-1 win secured progress.

A happy start to December with a 3-2 home win against Hamilton Accies but back to the gloom when the Fife Derby was lost 2-0 at Starks Park. During the previous week, fans and club were shocked when legend Alex Edwards died suddenly. Another away defeat, this time 2-0 at Cappielow, did not help preparation for Christmas.

With ownership of the Club in the process of passing to an American group, the board made the decision to relieve James McPake of his duties. A tough decision given the lack of support he had received on the player front, but confidence was not high that survival could be achieved. With John McLaughlan given interim control an inspirational performance at home to Falkirk saw The Pars fight back to draw 3-3 and finish the year in second bottom place.

With John McLaughlan still in caretaker control, the new year was brought in with a superb 4-1 win at Firhill. The decision to appoint Michael Tidser baffled fans. What prompted Dunfermline to pay compensation to obtain a coach with very little experience and no success to speak of, was unfathomable. Ayr United won 2-0 at East End Park in the League but progress in the Cup was achieved with a 3-0 win at home to Stenhousemuir. Jimmy Calderwood passed away and the month ended with a 3-0 thumping away to Airdrie. Michael Tidser had been given a number of loan signings to boost the squad: Jeremiah Chilokoa Mullin from Leeds, Omar Taylor-Clarke and Ephraim Yeboah from Bristol City, Archie Stevens from Rangers, Owen Hampson from Sheffield United and Tashan Oakley-Booth, forwards Connor Young, signed from Edinburgh City and Keith Bray from Inverness Caley Thistle, also arrived.

February began well with a 3-1 win, at home, to Raith Rovers, but Livingston ended Athletic`s interest in the Challenge Cup by winning 2-0 at East End Park. The Scottish Cup was next and Aberdeen were much too strong at Pittodrie, winning 3-0. A dull 0-0 draw at home to Queens Park followed but the month ended with 1-0 defeat at New Douglas Park.

March began a bit brighter with a 2-1 win at home to Morton but Falkirk won 1-0 at the Falkirk Stadium. This was followed by a 2-0 defeat at Starks Park and 3-0 at Somerset Park. It takes big men to admit to a serious error in judgement but the powers behind the scenes at East End Park did so and removed Michael Tidser from his post after 11 games. Not only that they persuaded Neil Lennon to take over till the end of the season and try to save the club from relegation. It was hard not to feel sorry for Michael Tidser, whose only sin was to take up the offer of a better job, who wouldn`t have? Now he was without one.

April off to a promising start with a 1-0 win at home to Livingston but a few days later Hamilton Accies reversed the score, also at East End Park. Chris Kane scored the all important goal to win 1-0 away to Queens Park and by avoiding defeat at home to Partick Thistle with a 0-0 draw, safety was virtually ensured. The last home game ended 0-0 with Airdrie and with nothing to play for, the season ended with a 2-0 defeat at Cappielow.

Ewan Otoo led the way with 47 appearances, Aaron Comrie and Chris Hamilton both had 43. Chris Kane was top scorer with 12. The most important thing now was to persuade Neil Lennon and Iain Brunskill to sign on permanently.