Robbie Winters grabbed a second-half hat-trick as Aberdeen swept aside basement battlers Dunfermline at Pittodrie.

The win boosted Paul Hegarty's chances of keeping the Aberdeen job beyond the end of the season.

Hegarty opted to give new signing and former Hearts striker Jim Hamilton his debut in the starting line-up, with Dennis Wyness dropping to the bench.

Hamilton played an active role throughout the game but without troubling Par's keeping Lee Butler too much.

Aberdeen started on the attack right from the start and Hamilton was involved in three early moves when he latched onto crosses from Andreas Mayer and Eoin Jess but without causing Butler too much difficulty.

Dunfermline took a seventh-minute lead against the run of play. A throw in from the left found Owen Coyle and his flicked ball went past Dons skipper Derek Whyte. That allowed former Rangers man David Graham to nip in behind the defence and unleash a stunning shot which hit the back of the net from 18 yards.

The Dons were then left chasing the game and enjoyed great spells of possession during the rest of the half but without finding the penetration necessary to cause the Pars any damage.

And indeed the Dons could have gone 2-0 behind just after the half hour mark when Graham again got in behind the Dons back four. He latched onto a Jason Dair through ball but found Dons keeper Derek Stillie at his best when he touched the header round the post.

The second half was a different story for the home side who had squandered many chances in the first half by failing to even hit the target and countered this with Winter's hat-trick.

The ex-Dundee United front man's first goal came two minutes after the break when he was fed a neat ball by Andy Dow. Winters turned on the edge of the box before sending an unstoppable low shot into the bottom corner despite the close attendance of three or four defenders.

Dunfermline rarely threatened at this stage and the Dons went ahead in 56 minutes. After a sustained attack the Dons patience finally paid off when a Mayer cross was met at the back post by Winters who scored easily from two yards.

Winters was on a high by this time and almost made it 3-1 two minutes later but Pars keeper Butler blocked the striker's chip shot.

However the Dons were not finished yet and sealed the three points in 68 minutes when Winters scored his and Aberdeen's third when he headed home a cross from Darren Young.

Winters was undoubtedly the star of the show and almost got a fourth 8 minutes from time when he latched onto a Jess cross from the right, this time though he sent the header wide of the post.

The victory now gives Aberdeen a nine-point lead over bottom club Hearts, a gap that Hegarty will see as a bit of a cushion.

But with his performance as boss still under scrutiny from the Dons board, Hegarty will not be resting on his laurels as the fight to avoid relegation continues into the remaining games of the season.

He will be looking to front man Winters, who has now scored in his last three outings, and new signing Jim Hamilton to keep the Dons in the Premier league.

Teams

Aberdeen: Stillie, Perry, Whyte, Smith, Hamilton, Jess, Mayer (Rowson 78), Dow, Bernard, Young, Winters.

Subs Not Used: Leighton, Buchan, Wyness, Hart.

Goals: Winters 47, 56, 68.

Dunfermline: Butler, Shields, Coyle, Millar (Britton 86), Smith, Petrie (Fraser 66), Thomson, Squires, Graham (Shaw 80), Dair,Dolan.

Subs Not Used: Westwater, Martin.

Booked: Millar, Dolan. Goals: Graham 7.

Att: 11,371

Ref: J McCluskey (Stewarton).