Ian Murray has challenged Raith Rovers to keep on the shoulder of Dundee United right down to the home straight in a remarkable Championship title race.
After boosting their hopes of promotion with a stirring 2-1 triumph over United at Stark’s Park, the Kirkcaldy men backed that up with another win against Ayr United on Saturday.
The three points were required to stay just a point adrift of the league leaders, who themselves picked up a victory over Queen’s Park.
Raith now face another test of their championship credentials when they host Morton on Tuesday night.
And Murray, who acknowledges United are ‘still favourites’, has urged his side to keep chipping away at a battle he hopes they can stay in right to the end.
He said: “It’s a really, really tough week. If could get out of this week with nine points, it would be an incredible return.
“It’s going to be hard with the Tuesday and Friday [against Arbroath] games, and obviously the games are hard anyway.
“We’ve given ourselves a chance, that’s it. We’re a point behind with 12 games to go.
‘Give ourselves a chance’
“I said with 25 to go, ‘we’re still in it’ and we said with 20 to go, ‘we’re still in it’.
“With 12 to go, we’re still in it. Can we get down to six or seven or five games to go and still be in it?
“Then, we would give ourselves a chance.”
Raith were not expected to be in with a shout of the title this season.
They started the campaign hopeful of earning the play-off place that eluded them last term.
United, by contrast, were everyone’s favourites for top spot and there was even chat in some quarters of them going through the fixture list undefeated.
A play-off spot remains Rovers’ fallback aim and coming in as runners-up would still give them a chance of promotion.
And, despite the excitement of pushing United all the way, Murray remains level-headed in laying out his side’s ambitions for the last third of the season.
He added: “It’s about keeping boys on their toes, getting that bit between their teeth and keeping standards high.
“We need to make sure training is high-tempo and really competitive. We’re getting now towards the business end of the season, once we get to that last quarter.
‘United are still favourites’
“It’s going to take a huge effort to try to win the league. United are still favourites, there’s no doubt.
“I’m not going to lie, I would rather be in their position than ours, because it’s an extra point on the board.
“But, on the flip side, I’m pretty sure at this stage they thought they would be planning for the summer and going to the Premiership, and what they can do with players.
“Most of the league would have thought that.
“So, we’ve got ourselves into a great position.
“If we fall short then we need to make sure we secure a play-off position.
“And then try our absolute best to get as high as we can [in the league], because it makes a big difference.”
New signing Lee Ashcroft is a major doubt for the visit of Morton after having to be substituted just before the break against Ayr on Saturday with a hamstring issue.
Meanwhile, the Raith board have slashed prices to just £10 and £5 for Tuesday night’s game.
A statement for supporters said: “With just 12 league matches left, your support is needed now more than ever.”
