The contrast between Ryan Hardie’s first loan spell with Raith last season and his current time with the club could not be starker.
When he arrived at Kirkcaldy last February, Rovers were on the up under Ray McKinnon and the Scotland Under-21 star was a big hit as he netted six times to help propel them into the promotion play-offs.
Hardie rejoined Raith at the start of this year with the team struggling and manager Gary Locke paid the price when he was sacked last month.
John Hughes is now in charge but while a lot has changed, Hardie’s determination and will-to-win for Raith remains the same and he is raring to go again this afternoon against McKinnon’s present side Dundee United at Stark’s Park.
Hardie, who turned 20 yesterday said: “Halfway through the season, I wondered what clubs would be interested in me and Raith came up.
“I have obviously been here before and the experience was good so I thought I could come back into an environment I was fond of.
“When I first came back in, we were in a good position but we went on a bad run and we hadn’t won since October until Wednesday night there against St Mirren.
“It is a different challenge but it is one that I am looking forward to.
“We need to fight for our lives as this is a massive club and it cannot get relegated so I am looking forward to doing whatever I can to keep Raith up.”
Hardie has already faced United this season when he was previously on loan at St Mirren and he knows exactly what they are capable of.
He added: “I have played against Dundee United a couple of times this season and there is no doubt about it, they are a real quality team.
“But we just need to focus and do what we do and hopefully try to get the win.
“I am thankful to Ray for giving me my chance when he was here and I have nothing but respect for him.
“He is a good manager and we know what they are going to be like. They will be fired up for the game so we just need to match that and go that bit extra.
“It is so tight at the bottom of the table and it is just about who gets the wins.
“We need to try to get some results.”
Once this season is over, Hardie admits he is determined to return to Rangers and fight for a place in the first team.
To do so, he will have to impress new Ibrox boss Pedro Caixinha.
Hardie added: “I go into Rangers Monday, Tuesday and Thursday with a bit of gym work on a Wednesday so I have tried to bump into the new manager but I haven’t managed to see him yet.
“I will hopefully see him in the next couple of days round about Murray Park.
“The other lads who have met him say he has come in with fresh ideas but he wants to play football.
“His drills are sharp and are always football related so I look forward to experiencing that.
“It will be a new challenge for me. I set myself targets and I will hopefully try to achieve them.
“My target for next year is to get towards the Rangers team – that’s what I am planning to do.”
As well as playing for Raith, Hardie will also turn out for the Scotland Under-21 side for the International Challenge Match against Estonia at St Mirren’s ground on Tuesday, March 28.
He said: “I am looking forward to that game at the end of the month and hopefully we can get a result.
“There are a few St Mirren boys in the squad but I know most of the lads after being away with them last year.
“Hopefully we can form an even tighter bond and the team kicks on again this year.
“There is a lot of quality with the likes of Liam Henderson who is playing at Celtic as well as other boys like Oli McBurnie who is scoring for fun with Swansea and Craig Wighton who is playing for Dundee so fingers crossed we can go places this year.”
