Gus MacPherson is looking to return to haunt former club Dunfermline today by guiding his Queen’s Park side to victory and into the hat for the fifth round of the Irn-Bru Cup.

The Spiders boss enjoyed a two-year spell at East End Park as a player between 2001 and 2003, playing in the top-flight for the club before hanging up his boots.

While he enjoyed his spell with the Pars, MacPherson is hoping that the expectation of the home crowd will work in his side’s favour this afternoon.

“I had a couple of years at Dunfermline playing there and I know exactly what type of club it is and the expectations there,” MacPherson said.

“They are a big, big club. They have a good, loyal support, and if Allan gets that going and gets them challenging near the top of the Championship they’ll be back in serious numbers.

“But they will be expected to win, and sometimes that can work against you.

“It’s good to see them back on a financial footing again. They’ve signed a lot of players and once they settle down, I’m sure they will be climbing that table.”

MacPherson says that confidence is high in the Queen’s Park camp, despite a disappointing loss to Albion Rovers last time out.

“We actually played well and that makes it all the more frustrating,” he said.

“We didn’t start particularly well, but we settled down a wee bit before losing a goal against the run of play.

“In the second-half we played really well on a difficult pitch and created good chances, we just couldn’t take them.

“That little bit was missing, but we should have at least got something from the game.

“What we can take though is plenty of positives, and it just shows the fine line between winning and losing at this level of football.

“You’re very quickly punished if you don’t capitalise on your own chances.”