New dad Joe Cardle reckons dumping Hibs out of the Scottish Cup could provide Raith Rovers with the spark they need to get their season back on track.
The Kirkcaldy club have seen their Championship campaign falter in recent weeks and their failure to score in the last five league fixtures has contributed to them slipping to sixth in the table.
Not ideal form to be heading into the weekend’s fifth round tie at Easter Road then but Cardle reckons the people writing Rovers off ahead of their trip to the capital should do so at their peril.
“It’s a cup tie where anything can happen,” he said.
“It’s a great competition to be involved in and, even though we know it’s going to be a tough ask and a tough game, it’s a cup game and we’ve showed before this season that we’ve been good in the cups.
“We’re in the Ramsdens Cup final and, even in the other cup against Hearts, I thought we were unlucky.
“We should have won the game against Hearts but we got a man sent off and then went out on penalties but I think it shows that we are capable of beating teams from a higher level.
“The supporters have been fantastic and, even though the team are going through a wee rut at the moment, we know they will be at Easter Road in their numbers on Saturday.
“Hopefully we can repay them by getting through to the next round. I’ve enjoyed my times playing at Easter Road and I’ve won there with Dunfermline so it’s a good game to look forward to.”
When Raith knocked Dundee out of the Scottish Cup in the previous round, they were still within five points of the Championship lead and still looking to mount a serious title challenge.
Since then, Rovers have only won one of their last eight league games and have lost ground, with the 1-0 loss away to Cowdenbeath at the weekend representing the latest disappointment.
Having said that, Grant Murray’s men are 10 points off top spot and it’s a deficit Cardle insists his team can tear into over the closing weeks.
He said: “When the draw was announced, at the time we were winning games and we’re now looking at this game as a chance to get the monkey off our backs.
“We haven’t scored in five games but it’s not as if we’ve not had the chances.
“We’ve watched a video this week and it showed how well we were playing at the start of the season, so we know it is there. It’s just a matter of us trying to get back into the winning mentality.
“It could just take one game for us to kick on, so we’ll be looking to get a win in our next game and hopefully that will be the start of a good run for us because we’re capable of going on a run.”
Off the pitch, Cardle is getting used to fatherhood following the safe arrival of his baby daughter Josie-Anne on January 21 and admits it has changed his outlook on life.
“From a personal point of view, the last two or three weeks have been unbelievable,” he continued.
“Normally for me, I come home after a defeat and I’m miserable but now things have been put into perspective and, as soon as I’m home, there’s a massive smile on my face because I’ve got a family at home. I’m a lot happier.
“You are going to get off days and days where things don’t go well, and things normally play on my mind, but it’s been amazing to come home to a wee family.”
As for what team little Josie-Anne will support, Cardle concluded: “I’m going to try and keep her away to be honest!
“She’ll be supporting me wherever I am, no doubt, and she’s got a wee Raith strip to wear, so we’ll just wait and see what happens.
“Hopefully her first game will be the Ramsdens Cup final in Edinburgh in April, so we’re looking forward to that.”