Raith Rovers are taking it “game by game”, according to Brad Spencer, as the club prepares for a potentially season-defining month.
In March, Rovers will travel to Ibrox to take on Rangers in the Scottish Cup quarter-final before facing Hamilton Accies in the SPFL Trust Trophy final.
The next few weeks also present a chance to start climbing the Scottish Championship.
Ian Murray’s side is 13 matches unbeaten in all competitions but too many draws have seen them close in on the teams above without moving up many places.
Friday night is a chance to go within two points of third-place Ayr United.
Busy schedule
“We want to keep the run going, we’re just taking it game by game,” said Spencer.
“We’ve got a lot of games coming up so at the moment we just want to focus on the next one and not look ahead – we’ll be ready to go again on Friday night.”
“They’ve always been a tough game. There’s a reason they’re high up in the league, they’re a good team.
“They play some nice stuff and have some good players that can cause problems, so we need to be right on our game and be ready for it.”
Rovers play some decent football themselves and have regularly drawn plaudits from opposition managers.
Spencer said this is partly down to Murray putting a lot of responsibility on to his players.
“He gives you the trust to go out and play. He puts a lot of trust in you to figure things out on the pitch. I’m enjoying it,” he said.
Spencer and midfielder partner Scott Brown are two of the first names on Murray’s team sheet and their bond off the pitch is reaping rewards on it.
“We’ve got a good relationship off the park, we’re in the same car school,” added Spencer.
“We’ve built a good relationship through that. I’m enjoying playing with Broony, he’s a good player.
“We compliment each other very well and I can see the benefits of it.”
Contract talks
The 26-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and confirmed that talks have begun with the club.
He has already triggered the option of an extra year should he choose to stay, but added: “I just want to play football to the best of my ability and let everything else take its course.”
Manager Murray confirmed that talks had begun with “two or three” of his players.
“There are players we want to keep but we also understand that if you’ve done well then there are always other suitors around,” he said.
🆕Raith Rovers team news: Ian Murray gives updates on Jamie Gullan and Lewis Vaughan ahead of facing 'ruthless' Ayr Unitedhttps://t.co/0SvSEZkia6 pic.twitter.com/2sS9EkDaAb
— Craig Cairns (@craigcairns001) February 22, 2023
“We’d like to think that they’re happy here, they’re playing regular football and you can see that we’re slowly building week by week and brick by brick.
“First we’ll get the Rangers game out the way then see where we are after that.”
