\n<\/p>\n
Unlike Falkirk, Dunfermline have not yet managed to end their top-flight absence, but will hope this is the season they can end their 14-year hiatus.<\/p>\n
They are third in the Championship, out of the running for the title but on course for a play-off spot.<\/p>\n
However, they have shown they are more than capable of competing at the top table with their cup performances this term.<\/p>\n
Under former Celtic and Hibernian boss Neil Lennon, the Pars have beaten Queen of the South, Hibernian, Kelty Hearts and holders Aberdeen.<\/p>\n
Despite those wins over top-flight teams, the former Northern Ireland midfielder expects a stern test against McGlynn, describing him as “one of the best coaches” in Scottish football.<\/p>\n
Lennon also believes his opposite number on Saturday could be the man to take Celtic forward when interim boss Martin O’Neill departs in the summer. <\/p>\n
“He’s learned, he’s worked hard and he’s reaping the rewards of it,” he said. “He’s a sponge and I know he’s very thorough in his detailed approach.”<\/p>\n
Lennon is a serial winner in this competition – four times he lifted the trophy as a player and four more as a manager. <\/p>\n
Doing so with Dunfermline would be one of his finest achievements in management and, despite his long career in the dugout, Lennon is as hungry as ever for success.<\/p>\n
“I have this real inner drive to succeed and keep going,” he said. <\/p>\n
“I don’t think I have anything to prove to people, I don’t really bother about that. It’s proving to myself what I can achieve and what more I can do.<\/p>\n
“This is the next step for me, trying to get to a cup final and into the Premiership.”<\/p>\n
To achieve the first of those goals, Lennon will have to find a way to stop one of the most talked-about young players in Scottish football – a man he knows well.<\/p>\n
Barney Stewart has played a key role in Falkirk’s success this season, scoring 10 goals in 17 appearances.<\/p>\n
That is off the back of a prolific loan spell at Dunfermline in the first half of this campaign, during which he netted eight in 12.<\/p>\n
“Barney’s gone on to do really good things this season,” Lennon said. “In the box, he’s dynamite. A lot of his goals are one-touch finishes.<\/p>\n
“He scored eight goals in 12 games here. The challenge was, could he take it on into the Premiership? He’s done that.<\/p>\n
“I think he surprised a lot of people. He’s had a meteoric six months. Credit to him. He’s a good lad as well.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Unlike Falkirk, Dunfermline have not yet managed to end their top-flight absence, but will hope this is the season they can end their 14-year hiatus. They are third in the Championship, out of the running for the title but on course for a play-off spot. However, they have shown they are more than capable of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13262,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/outdoorthrill.cfd\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/outdoorthrill.cfd\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/outdoorthrill.cfd\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outdoorthrill.cfd\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outdoorthrill.cfd\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/outdoorthrill.cfd\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13261\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outdoorthrill.cfd\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/outdoorthrill.cfd\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outdoorthrill.cfd\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outdoorthrill.cfd\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}