DON'T talk to Dorus de Vries about accepting what many pundits believe is inevitable: that Dunfermline will play their football in the first division next season.

The Dutchman, outstanding in a game which may have prompted spectators to undergo electric shock treatment to erase it from their memories, could turn his hand to media and public relations to convince fans that all is not lost.

It was backs-to-the-wall stuff for De Vries and his defensive colleagues as they battened down the hatches, aided by several inept attempts from Dundee United to score.

Collin Samuel and Stuart Duff allowed the Dunfermline keeper to display his worth early on and he was busy in the second period as the cavalry charges from the home side bore down again and again. But there was hardly a glimpse of creation from the visitors in a game where technique was left on the training pitch.

As Craig Levein and Stephen Kenny, the respective managers, hand out the How to pass the ball' manuals this morning, De Vries can be relied upon not only to do his job but to spread the word that the Fifers have St Mirren, second bottom of the Bank of Scotland Premierleague, in their sights.

"I live in Dunfermline," he said, "and I speak to a lot of supporters. No chance. Everybody's positive. There is so much belief because we have two games each against Motherwell, St Mirren and Inverness and that's a lot of points and if you are in the right mood and create chances and score goals, then something can happen and you gain points. With a bit of luck it'll come."

Better make that a lot of luck. Dunfermline look to be incapable of creativity and while there were bright displays from James O'Brien and Adam Hammill, the experienced members of the side could not get to grips with the war zone of relegation troubles played out on a battle-weary pitch.

So ineffectual were the two Dunfermline strikers, Stevie Crawford and Jim Hamilton, that United goalkeeper Derek Stillie could quite easily have nipped off for a cup of tea at any point. It was, he revealed, his quietest-ever game.

If there was a positive for United it was a more settled defence which included the central pairing of Lee Wilkie and David McCracken, a player told only days earlier he had no future at the club. And no, Levein admitted, that decision would not be rescinded.

Kenny, on the other hand, was pleased with a point and a clean sheet, the latter fact appealing most to his goalkeeper. "You have to build on the basics and points, especially away, are built on clean sheets," added De Vries.

"Every game is like a cup final for us and we are happy we gained a point because points were dropped elsewhere by teams who might be involved in the relegation issue later. I must compliment my defenders because they were quality against United."