Dunfermline Athletic manager Neil Lennon has admitted that Victor Wanyama was not at his physical best when he endured a nightmare debut for the Scottish Championship club.The Kenyan midfielder made a surprise return to Scotland this week, joining Dunfermline on a free transfer after months without action since his contract with MLS side CF Montreal expired in November 2024.Despite his lack of match fitness, Wanyama was immediately thrown into action, starting on the bench in Saturday’s clash against Ayr United.##NAJAVA_MECA_8814229##However, his much-anticipated debut took a disastrous turn. Just 19 minutes after coming on, he received a straight red card for what the referee deemed a deliberate handball.“He slipped, and his initial reaction was to reach out for the ball,” Lennon told the club’s website, reflecting on the incident.“But I thought we had a covering player. I didn’t think their guy would have been clean through. Listen, I’m not happy with the referee.I got booked today for apparently contesting a decision where my player was flattened, yet the opponent who argued with the referee didn’t even get a card. A very, very strange performance from him. Like I said, I felt we definitely should have had a penalty in the first half.””I will always be a fan”- Norway -bound defender to K’Ogalo faithfulLennon expressed sympathy for Wanyama, who now faces a three-match suspension, acknowledging that he took a risk by fielding the former Harambee Stars captain despite his lack of match fitness.“I knew he was rusty,” the former Celtic boss admitted. “We actually had a good spell at 1-0, and then the second goal came in disappointing fashion. But I thought Bene had a great game overall.Victor needs minutes in his legs as quickly as possible. Now, he’ll have to do a lot of conditioning work and train with the rest of the squad. Hopefully, he’ll be ready for next week. I hope it’s just a one-game suspension.”Ex-Gor Mahia midfielder opens up on difficult exit and future aspirationsDunfermline’s woes deepened as they suffered a 3-0 defeat, leaving them ninth in the 10-team league and battling relegation.With Wanyama suspended for the next three matches, the club will need to find solutions quickly as they fight for survival in the Scottish Championship.👕 What a response! Nearly 100 shirts printed today with Wanyama 44 on the back! 🌎 Shirts are being sent from Townhill to Tottenham and Kincardine to Kenya with orders all over the world currently being fulfilled.Thank you as always for your support #DAFC fans 🏁 https://t.co/YITCD6XtIs pic.twitter.com/UA0IlLDW2x— Dunfermline Athletic (@officialdafc) March 28, 2025
