Mehmet confident he can fill in where Brewster left off

DEREK MCCALLUM

DUNFERMLINE’S Billy Mehmet is relishing leading the Fifers’ frontline ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Hearts at Tynecastle.

The Londoner admitted it was a blow to lose strike partner and mentor Craig Brewster last week after the former Hibee took over as boss of Inverness Caledonian Thistle. But Mehmet reckons the time is right for him to come of age and profit from Brewster’s coaching.

He said: "It was an obvious blow to lose Craig, I learned a lot from playing alongside him. He would always keep me right either by telling me what I was doing wrong or giving me a compliment and pat on the head when he was pleased with my play.

But instead of seeing it as a loss I’ve got to look at it as an opportunity.

"This is the chance for me to try and follow in his footsteps. You’ve got to be positive and while Craig was highly influential we have a lot of other experienced players like Scott Thomson, Scott Wilson and Greg Shields who can continue to give advice both on the park and at training.

There’s no doubt Craig will be a big miss but it’s up to us to fill the gap and score the goals."

It took Mehmet a while to break his scoring duck this season but netting a couple of goals in recent weeks as well as some assists, most notably in the 4-1 victory over Kilmarnock, have sent his confidence soaring. "Now I’ve started to score I feel more confident. I have been happy with my performances and I’d like to go on a run. But for me it’s just as good setting up chances as scoring. It’s all about the team performance."

The former West Ham United striker

expects a tough encounter at Tynecastle tomorrow.

"We must be positive then stand up and be counted," he said. "They have the reputation of being a big, strong side so it’s important we don’t let ourselves get bullied. We are looking forward to the challenge and hopefully I’ll score and we’ll get the result we’re after."

Taken from the Scotsman