THE majority of Scottish football clubs in the lower divisions are set to go cap in hand over the next few months for cash from lottery funds to improve their grounds.

The first club to take advantage of the money on offer, Dunfermline Athletic of the premier division, were yesterday awarded a total of #1.5m - half of the total cost of improvement work at their East End Park ground.

Bulldozers moved in yesterday to demolish the standing terraces at Dunfermline, the last ones remaining at a Scottish premier division ground.

Officially the cash available from lottery funds and the Football Trust is on offer to allow clubs to fulfil the requirements of the Taylor report on ground safety. However, the cash injection is timely, coming as the top 10 teams, which have set up the new breakaway Premier League, made it clear that clubs with sub-standard grounds would not be allowed entry into the top flight.

Newly-promoted Dundee have still to make a decision on whether they will improve their present stadium or move to a custom-built one. It is believed that there is #20m in the British pot for football club's to dip into to improve safety at the grounds, a percentage of which will be spent in Scotland.

Dunfermline vice-chairman Gavin Masterton admitted that they were on a tight schedule to have the two new stands they are building finished in time for the new season. Masterton said the work at East End Park was long overdue and was part of a long-term plan to create a community facility for the town based around the ground.

From a footballing point of view, there will be new indoor training facilities built below the new east stand. Each stand will hold just over 3000 and, once completed, the all-seated stadium will have a capacity of 12,500.

Masterton said that the ground redevelopment would not come at the expense of the first-team squad. ''We hope with the new Premiership set-up that extra funds from that source can be channelled towards the football side.''

Yesterday, Dunfermline manager Bert Paton, and player Craig Robertson, reminisced over their time playing at the old stadium and how the old terraces generated a great atmosphere.

Paton said his favourite memory of the old East End Park was a game in 1968 when Dunfermline lost to Celtic in front of a crowd of nearly 27,000.

''Both teams were doing well and there was a tremendous atmosphere in the ground. There were people up pylons, on top of the pie-hut and some people had got up onto the enclosure roof, in fact the referee had to stop the game three times on police advice to get them off. Certainly I will take some great memories from both managing and playing at the old stadium with its terraces.''

Paton said he was annoyed that East End Park had fallen behind other stadiums in Scotland and he dated the slide back to the early 1960s. ''I joined the club in 1961 as a player and they were in the process of building the main stand,'' he began.

''At the time, Dunfermline were away ahead of everybody else. Since then, they have fallen behind and there is a lot of work to do to get the place up to scratch. It's certainly annoying we fell so far behind in the first place.''

Rovertson, the Dunfermline club captain, said the ground improvements were important for the team, which he said showed by their recent performances that they should be in the premier division.

''Dunfermline belong in the premier league and the status of the club has grown,'' he said. ''There is still a bit to go but this is a big step forward for the club.''

Jim Farry, chief executive of the Scottish Football Association and Trustee of the Football Trust, said the monies available for ground safety was important for the future of Scottish football.

Farry said: ''The award to Dunfermline is the first to be made under the new partnership between the Scottish Sports Council and the Football Trust. I am delighted to be involved in this partnership and look forward to seeing the completion of East End Park, in what will be the first concrete results of the new initiative.'''

On the playing side, Dunfermline could be set to sign Ayr United defender Derek Anderson.

They have already made enquiries about the availability of the former Kilmarnock player, who is out of contract at the end of the season.

The move seems likely to go ahead, with United manager Gordon Dalziel launching a huge clear-out after using an astonishing 50 players so far.

The 25-year-old joined the Somerset Park club last year after playing for Killie for three seasons.

Meanwhile, Ayr United are laying on free transport for their fans for Saturday's relegation decider with Partick Thistle at Firhill.

Dalziel said: ''The chairman and directors appreciate the tremendous support from the fans all season and are laying on the buses to thank them. This will be a crucial 90 minutes for the club.'' Seats must be booked by 5pm on Thursday.