Dylan Corr insists he is ready to help Raith Rovers in their promotion battle after learning to love the physicality of the Championship.
The 19-year-old made just his third league start for the Kirkcaldy club against Inverness Caley Thistle on Friday night following his move from Celtic B last summer.
The centre-half has had to be patient after a foot injury prevented him from building on an impressive start to the campaign in the Viaplay Cup group stage.
Since returning to fitness in the autumn, Corr admits he has also had to get used to the kind of last-ditch defending that saw out Raith’s 1-0 win in the Highlands.
But the centre-half is now desperate to play as big a role as possible as Rovers get ready to finish off the regular season against Morton and Arbroath before their play-off clash with either Airdrie or Partick Thistle.
“I was delighted to get the nod for the game on Friday night,” said the teenager.
“It’s been frustrating for myself, but the boys have done amazing and it’s been hard to get into the team.
“I played in all four of the League Cup group games and then got injured right at the start of the season, which didn’t really help me.
“But I was really happy to get the start against Inverness. That was just my third game in the league this season. I was just delighted to get minutes into my legs.
‘It’s something I’m not used to’
“Late on, they were putting us under a lot of pressure and I went down with a wee bit of cramp. It was tough.
“But you just need to dig in to get the wins we want.
“It’s something I’m not used to. Coming from Celtic, I was used to having a lot of the ball.
“That’s been the big kind of difference for me after joining Raith.
“But that’s me coming up to a full year doing it in training. And I feel as though I’m getting tougher and reading the game better.
“Friday night was another good experience for me and I really enjoyed it.”
Raith’s success in Inverness, courtesy of a fantastic finish from Lewis Vaughan and an inspired display of goalkeeping from Kevin Dabrowski, kept the title race going until Dundee United’s win over Ayr United the following day.
Scrapping for a narrow victory in a game that could easily have gone the other way highlighted the kind of qualities Rovers will need if they are to now prevail in the play-offs.
“We were delighted with the win,” added Corr. “I thought the boys dug really, really deep to get the 1-0 victory.
“It’s not always going to be pretty at times, but I thought we did the dirty side of the game.
‘We want confidence to be high’
“It’s obviously good to have good form going into the play-offs. We want confidence to be high.
“That’s why it was good to get that result on Friday night, no matter what happened with Dundee United the following day.
“The manager has said it all season. We’re going to need everyone, every single man from the back to the front, for these next few weeks.
“So, it was good getting a few minutes into some boys on Friday night.
“It’s just about building on that now.”
Having penned only a 12-month deal, Corr is one of around a handful of players who are out of contract at the end of the season.
However, he accepts that preparing for the play-offs is taking priority for the time being.
“I just want to show the club everything that I can,” he continued. “I still feel as though I’ve got a lot more in me as well.
“Friday was obviously my first game in a long time so I wasn’t fully, 100 per cent match-sharp. But the more games I get the better I get.
“We’ll speak about my contract situation after the play-offs.”
