PARS boss James McPake has said that discussions over recruitment plans for next season are already underway.

And he believes that sitting higher up the Championship table, compared to a couple of months ago, will have a positive impact on trying to bring players to the club.

Dunfermline, whose full back, Josh Edwards, has been linked with English League One teams Oxford United and Lincoln City, go into their match with Queen's Park on Saturday fifth in the table, knowing that a victory over their second bottom opponents would guarantee avoiding a potential relegation play-off spot and consolidate their status in the division for next season.

Defeat at Airdrieonians on Saturday has left them nine points outside the promotion play-off places, with an inferior goal difference to that of both the Diamonds and Partick Thistle, who occupy fourth and third places respectively.

Prior to the game at the Excelsior Stadium, McPake revealed that thoughts have already turned towards squad strengthening, commenting: "The recruitment is non-stop.

"We got caught cold a wee I believe at the start of the season. I think it's been a learning curve in that sense but, yes, those discussions are ongoing. They have been before even this week with certain players that are here, certain players that we're looking to bring in but, again, the difficulty comes when we go back seven, eight weeks ago, when we were maybe ninth in the table, and you're trying to say to players, look, come here.

"Lee Ashcroft (who Pars were interested in signing on loan in February, before he joined Raith Rovers), for example. He picked it solely on league position, which is up to him. As much as I'm trying to sell our club and say you know this, that and the next thing, all he looked at was the league table. He's a footballer; sometimes, when you're shortsighted, that's what you do.

"I don't mean that in any disrespect to Lee, because he's probably thinking he can go and get promoted again. Would I have done the same thing? I'm not sure. I'd need to be in that situation.

"When you're playing, you're just looking at what can I achieve, I'm only going on loan. That was the difficulty then and when you're trying to speak to players even then and saying right, come on, come here next year. It's good here, the boys are great. Yeah, but you're ninth in the table.

"It's better when you're sitting fourth or fifth."

McPake also said things would "become a bit clearer" over players out of contract - such as Alex Jakubiak and Paul Allan - and their futures, adding: "Our first target was to get to 40 points and see what happens. We're still seeing what happens at the minute, but it'll become a bit clearer over the next week or two I'm sure."