Raith Rovers boss Ian Murray heaped the praise Connor McBride after revealing a pre-Christmas pep talk with his matchwinner.
McBride lept off the Rovers bench to net a second half winner for Rovers as they came back from behind to beat Arbroath 2-1.
McBride headed home after Scott Brown cancelled out Michael McKenna’s opener.
The youngster has only made one league start for Raith but is very much in Murray’s plans going forward.
Murray trimmed down his squad during the January transfer window – releasing six – but insists McBride was never going to get the axe.
“We’re starting to show real quality in our squad,” said Murray.
“We streamlined our squad by letting six go and only bringing in two.
“But sometimes that can be a positive because the quality increases.
“We all learned during Covid you can get by with smaller numbers if you have a bit of luck on your side.
“That gives guys opportunities and look at Connor McBride.Â
“He came on and scored a wonderful header.
“He has worked hard since Christmas. I had a good chat with him and told him I needed more from him.
“But what I like about him is he takes that kind of chat on the chin and comes back and does the business.
“Some guys don’t so you have to pick the right people to have that kind of talk with.
“It never crossed my mind to let Connor go. He hasn’t played a lot of minutes but I know there’s something in him.
“There’s more to come and he’ll get an opportunity after winning us a valuable three points.”
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