COWDENBEATH boss Liam Fox is looking forward to his first Fife derby as a manager with Dunfermline visiting on Saturday.

He was involved as a player during his time with Raith Rovers but as a boss it will be his first taste of the rivalry and he can hardly wait.

Fox told Times Sport: “There is always something special about a derby match and a visit from Dunfermline is a really big fixture for us.

“When the Betfred Cup section was announced it threw up some testing games for us which will show us how far we are coming on as a team.

“The game with the Pars will be a keenly awaited match by the players and fans and we want to go out and put on a really good show and hopefully get some points.”

The manager was happy with the way his team tackled Premiership high fliers Inverness Caley Thistle on Saturday and wants more of the same as his side face Championship sides Dundee United at Tannadice in midweek and Dunfermline at Central Park.

It took a controversial linesman’s decision to see Cowden lose 1-2 to the Highlanders and the manager was delighted with the way his team fought back after losing an early goal.

He said: “To lose a goal inside 15 minutes against a Premiership team made you think that we would be really up against it but we were soon coming back at them and Dean Brett’s goal was well taken after good work by Lewis Moore.

“After that we created some really good chances and at the same time defended superbly.

“The linesman is in the best place to deal with the situation which led to the winning goal but we had a great chance later on to square the game and take it to a penalty shoot-out.

“Games against the likes of Inverness are not what is going to be crucial to us in the bigger League Two picture but it was encouraging the way we handled a team which had a host of players who have been playing in the top tier for some time.”

Fox was satisfied with the way the defence coped without the towering presence of Craig Sives, who had to call off on Saturday morning, but he will be back for this weekend.

The manager is unlikely to make many changes for the derby but Greg Ross will be available to move forward from the centre-back role he filled against Caley.

Also in the squad will be utility defender James Creaney, who was signed on Thursday, while young midfielder Brian Ross has been signed from the Lothians junior ranks.