Shaun Byrne insists he loved his time at Livingston – but hopes his old side hate having him back with Raith Rovers.
Raith have been tipped by many as the likely source of a Scottish Cup shock this weekend as they travel to face the Lions.
Livi are rock bottom in the Premiership and have not won for 13 games stretching back over three months.
Rovers on the other hand are flying high in joint-top spot in the Championship, despite suffering back-to-back defeats in their last two games.
Byrne, whose loan from Dundee was last week confirmed for the rest of the season, is relishing the challenge of facing top-flight opposition on the road to Hampden.
And, having spent three years with Livi after leaving Dunfermline in 2016, he reckons he knows from experience what kind of game to expect at Almondvale.
He said: “I left Dunfermline because I needed a fresh start and we won League One [at Livingston] pretty easily.
“We got promoted to the Championship and I played every game and then we won promotion to the Premiership.
“Everything was going well, I had the best of times there. I absolutely loved it at Livingston.
Hard work
“It probably taught me a different side of football that I needed to learn.
“I was quite technical and was thinking more with the ball when I was at Dunfermline.
“When I went to Livingston I learned that dirty graft, that other side of the game, and I’ve taken that on for the rest of my career.
“That’s what Livingston’s all about – hard work, everybody pulling in the same direction. You never get an easy game.
“I know they’re on a bad run but they’ve actually been unlucky in a few games as well. They’re not far away.
“They’ll obviously be looking at Saturday to kick-start the second half of their season and take that into the league.
“But hopefully we can go there and play the way we want to play and cause an upset and get through.”
Livi’s horrendous run of form heaps the pressure on David Martindale and his side ahead of the tie.
Raith, on the other hand, had suffered just one defeat in the entire league campaign until consecutive losses to Airdrie and Queen’s Park left them questioning the reasons for a ‘sticky patch’.
Byrne is adamant there is no panic after they lost top spot in the Championship to Dundee United.
Distraction
And he believes a different test in knock-out competition may be the perfect tonic.
He added: “This is probably a good time for the cup. Obviously, the league’s not been great for us in the last few weeks.
“Against Airdrie, we did let ourselves down. We weren’t great.
“Last Saturday, against Queen’s Park, we could have been two or three up. We weren’t bad, it was just wee bits and bobs.
“This weekend is a good distraction for everybody.
🥳 Happy Shaun Byrne Day!
The deadline for Dundee to recall Shaun Byrne from his loan has now passed.
He will also be available for our Scottish Cup tie versus Livingston next Saturday.#YouBelong pic.twitter.com/ClIwgw7tao
— Raith Rovers Football Club (@RaithRovers) January 12, 2024
“It’s not a free hit. We’re not going there not expecting to win.
“But there’s a bit more pressure on Livingston to beat us, being in the league above.
“We hope there’s a shock. That’s the plan.
“We’ll go there and, as always, we’ll try to win the game. It doesn’t matter how we play, we always go out to attack and try to win.
“Hopefully we can put on a good performance and show a good account of ourselves.”
