Raith Rovers midfielder Allan Walker insists his side will hold their nerve during the “10 cup finals” they have left this season and win promotion to the SPL.
The Kirkcaldy outfit are still top of the first division but their lead was cut to two points on Saturday after Dunfermline beat Falkirk and Rovers lost at home to Partick Thistle.
Now, with 10 league matches left, Walker and his teammates want to ensure that their promotion push is successful, starting tonight against Cowdenbeath.
He said, “We cannot wait to get Saturday’s game out of our systems. We all know it was our poorest performance of the season. It was just a bad day at the office but all credit to Partick Thistle they worked their socks off and thoroughly deserved their win.”
He added, “We are desperate to put things right against Cowdenbeath but we know it will be a difficult game as they are fighting for their lives at the bottom of the table. But we did not do ourselves justice on Saturday and we will be looking to bounce back and give our supporters something to cheer about.”
Despite the setback, Walker says morale is good.
“We are still top of the league, and I think if someone had offered the manager and players at the start of the season that with 10 games to go we would be two points clear at the top of the table, we would have bitten their hand off.
“We have been a wee bit inconsistent recently and we just want to go on a four- or five-game winning run, starting against Cowdenbeath. We have 10 cup finals left. It is not about playing pretty football now or scoring the perfect goal it is just all about picking up three points.”LacklustreWalker’s boss John McGlynn did not pull his punches after Saturday’s lacklustre performance but confessed he was at a loss to explain why his side had played so poorly.
“I am not the first manager who has a group of guys on a particular day play badly and there is no real answer to it,” said McGlynn. “You can listen to some of the top managers in English football on the TV and they do not have answers to it.
“It was just one of those days you need to put behind you and move on but I might look at freshening things up against Cowdenbeath.”
Iain Williamson will miss out for Rovers after picking up a foot injury.
Raith also have a likely supporter in Cowden boss Jimy Nicholl.
He is backing his old side to win the title but only after the Blue Brazil have beaten them tonight.IncentiveCowdenbeath are sitting second bottom of the league and are desperate to start moving up the table. And if ever any further incentive was needed in a derby, there is the small matter of revenge for the loss at Central Park in February.
Nicholl said, “We were 3-0 down at half-time, which is very poor in a derby game at home, so we are really keen to make amends in Kirkcaldy.”
He added, “The last thing we want is to become detached at the bottom. I hope Raith win the league but only after we have taken three points off them.”
Nicholl has a full squad to select from as Lee Makel and Joe Mbu have recovered from injury. However, the manager still has to decide whether to use Bob Malcolm.
The former Rangers defender can only play one more game as a trialist and Nicholl admitted he might keep him in reserve.
“The biggest thing is whether we can persuade him to stay until the end of the season so we will have to sit down with him and offer him something.”