John McGlynn admits he delivered a ‘kick up the backside’ to his Raith Rovers players following a dismal first half against Kilmarnock.
Rovers succumbed to a 3-0 defeat at Rugby Park on Saturday, extending the Fifers’ winless streak in the Championship to nine matches.
The damage was done in the opening 15 minutes, with Stephen McGinn and Kyle Lafferty finding the net as Raith stumbled out of the blocks.
McGlynn replaced Sean Mackie, Jamie Gullan and Ben Williamson with Ethon Varian, Aidan Connolly and Dario Zanatta at the interval — and delivered some home truths following a passive showing.
“The start was not what we planned for,” said the Rovers boss. “The plan was to contain them and not allow them to get a flying start in the game. But that has backfired with losing the early goal.
“We didn’t use the ball well at all, in the first half in particular.
“The first half was as poor as I’ve seen us. It wasn’t my team out there; it wasn’t a team that was fighting.
“So, it was three changes at half-time and a kick up the backside. There was a recognition that we didn’t start the game well.
“You have to win your headers in the box, regardless of formation. You need to win second balls in the middle of the park. We didn’t do that well enough. It was an entirely different team [after the break].”
Taking the positives
Indeed, the second half was an immeasurable improvement.
Sam Stanton and Dario Zanatta forced wonderful saves from Zach Hemming, Ethan Ross shot wide and Christophe Berra struck the post.
Yet, it was Kilmarnock who again rippled the net, with Lafferty notching his brace to seal the 3-0 triumph.
“The only thing Jamie MacDonald had to do in the second half was pick the ball out of the net,” rued McGlynn. “The positives were in the second-half performance, where we did really well. We’ll take those positives.”
‘Muck in and turn the corner’
Without a league win since December 11, the Kirkcaldy club remain in the final promotion playoff place, albeit largely due to the four games in hand possessed by fifth-placed Partick Thistle, who Rovers host next week.
“We need to dust ourselves off and go again next week,” added McGlynn. “We need to roll our sleeves up, muck in and turn the corner.
“It was never going to be easy going to Kilmarnock. On paper, it’s our hardest fixture.
“It doesn’t get much easier with Partick next week — they are a good side — but we are looking to bounce back.”
