Ethan Ross was delighted with his “15-minute cameo” in Raith Rovers’ Championship opener and is aiming to get his “numbers up” between now and the end of the season.
The attacker came off the bench last weekend at Partick Thistle, with his side 2-0 down, and marked his comeback with two assists to snatch an unlikely point.
Rovers are now hoping they can carry the momentum from Dylan Easton and Kieran Mitchell’s late goals into this weekend’s visit of Morton.
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It was a timely return for Ross, who was back fit for the first week of pre-season before the same injury – a sports hernia and osteosis pubis – that disrupted so much of last season flared up.
“Last year was very difficult for me, it’s probably the toughest season I’ve had: injuries, not getting to the bottom of what the problem was,” he said. “I’m hoping I can put that all behind me.
“I’m an attacking player, I want to create chances, I want to score goals, I want to get my numbers up.
“That gets you in the headlines, and that’s where I want to be.
“I’ll look to help the team. If we can do well then my performances will take care of themselves.”
Ethan Ross ‘close’ to where he wants to be
Ross has felt no adverse reaction since last Saturday and is pleased with how things are progressing.
“It’s one of those things,” he added. “It’s nerve pain, really – it comes and goes at certain times, but it’s not nearly as bad as it was when it was at its worst.
“I feel like my fitness is coming. It’s hard when you’ve missed every single game of pre-season, to get up to the fitness level that other boys are at.
“Training is tough, but I’m enjoying it and feel I’m getting close to where I want to be.”
Attention now turns to Morton, with Ross hoping he and Raith can take the momentum from their late comeback into Saturday’s match.
He also welcomes the increased competition in attacking areas, added since he last made an appearance on the final day of last season.
Healthy competition
“When you look at the boys who have come in, I think competition is healthy,” said Ross.
“We bought in Shaun [Byrne] recently as well, that’ll give us a bit more stability in the midfield.
“That’s what successful teams do, they have a good squad. It’s not just the starting XI.
“That’s maybe what we had last year, with a lot of injuries and we’re hoping that the boys in the starting XI can do the job.
“Now we have we’ve got a squad that, if boys aren’t doing well, people can come on from the bench and help out – that’s what we’re going to look to do.”
