MICHAEL TIDSER believes that his Kelty Hearts side will be underdogs against Dunfermline Athletic this weekend but thinks the gap between Championship and League One teams has narrowed.

The New Central Park side, who are proudly at the top of the third tier after the first quarter of games, head to KDM Group East End Park on Saturday for a fourth round SPFL Trust Trophy tie.

It will be just the fifth competitive meeting of the sides, who faced off in League One in the 2022/23 season, when James McPake's Pars won the title.

Two matches ended scoreless, with the others ending in 2-1 victories for Dunfermline, who currently sit second bottom of the Championship.

Tidser, whose men routed Queen of the South in stunning fashion away from home on Saturday, said: "Dunfermline are a Championship side so they'll be heavy favourites but, again, without sounding disrespectful, I always try and focus on us.

"It was the same on Saturday there against Queen of the South - top of the table, and they're there on merit, but I genuinely, during training Tuesdays and Thursdays, I do more work on us and how we can hurt teams, as opposed to the other way round.

"Obviously, you need to be switched on, because they've got good players. They've got good Championship players, good Premiership players, and they got a point on Saturday as well.

"I know they've had a few injuries. Like every manager, we've all got our gripes, but Dunfermline are definitely a good side. There's no doubt about that, so it'll be a really tough test for us, but one that will tell me where the group's at in terms of the growth.

"I think the gap now between your bottom half Championship, whoever that may be, and your top end League One, I think on their day, when teams go toe to toe, I don't think the gap's as big as it probably was when I was playing, maybe 10 years ago or whatever.

"Whether that's part-time teams have got better, I think boys look after themselves better, so they're fitter, but if you go and cause an upset, people will start asking questions.

"I can't focus too much on Dunfermline. I know that might sound a bit blasé, but I always focus on us and see if we can grow as a group. It comes no better than East End Park on Saturday, which is a big pitch, and I'm sure the pitch will be nice as well.

"It'll be an opportunity for the lads to go and show how far we've come over the past 18 months, and we'll see what happens because anything can happen in a cup tie."

The match kicks off at 1pm to avoid a clash with Scotland's Nations League game in Croatia, which starts at 5pm.