Ian Murray says his squad is the “healthiest” it has been since he took over at Stark’s park.
The Raith Rovers manager hopes to welcome back Tom Lang to the squad this weekend for the visit of Auchinleck Talbot in the Scottish Cup.
The defender hasn’t played since the home draw to Hamilton in February due to a knee injury.
Murray said he is not taking the game lightly and it is one that is important for the club – from a playing perspective and financially.
Talbot play their football in the SJFA West Region Premiership but have taken some scalps in this competition, including Championship side Hamilton last season.
On guard
“It’s going to be hard against a very well-drilled side who will give us respect but will come here and think they can turn us over,” Murray tells Courier Sport.
“So we have to be on our guard.
“We know it’s a kind of no-win weekend for us because everyone expects us to win.”
“I’m not bothered if we win by one goal or five goals I just want to be in the next round.”
Murray faced Junior opposition once in the competition as a player when Hibernian took on Irvine Meadow in 2010.
The capital side ran out 3-0 winners that day but endured a tough start to the match that afternoon.
The Raith boss says it won’t be wholesale changes.
“It won’t be a case of five or six boys out the team and it won’t be a case of littering it with a lot of young players,” he adds.
“It’s a really hard game. We’ll treat Auchinleck with the respect they deserve.
“They deserve the respect from us as well, we’re not that good to expect we can just turn teams over.”
Team news
Lang is one of the four long-term absentees Murray inherited and is the last to make his comeback – he hopes to be in the match-day squad on Saturday.
One of those four, club captain Ross Matthews, will again miss out after missing the last two weeks – including the 5-2 defeat to Queen’s Park.
Other than that it is pretty much a clean bill of health for Rovers, with Dylan Easton recovering quicker than expected from a back injury.
Murray previously called the playmaker a “quick healer” but was still surprised with this speedy return.
“I always worry when it’s a back injury because it can be a nightmare for it to leave the player, but he’s trained fully this week,” adds the Rovers manager.
“So he will be involved.”
The only doubt is Liam Dick whose hamstring has been “slightly tight now for a couple of weeks”.
Goalkeeper Robbie Thomson is the only other player unavailable.
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