If Raith Rovers can reach the Premiership via the play-offs it will be a dream come true for Callum Smith – and possibly a nightmare for brother Connor.
The siblings have already discussed the possibility they could be on opposite sides of the end-of-season shoot-out for a remarkable third year in a row.
Should Raith see off the winners of the quarter-final between Airdrie and Partick Thistle, they will face either St Johnstone or Ross County in the final.
Saints, where Connor moved in January from Hearts, currently look the more likely as they sit in the dreaded second-bottom spot following the weekend’s results.
In each of the last two years, the Smith brothers have faced each other with promotion and relegation on the line.
In 2022, Connor came out on top as Queen’s Park defeated Callum’s Airdrie to clinch a place in the Championship.
Twelve months later, Callum gained revenge as Airdrie defeated Hamilton Accies to win promotion to the second-tier.
This time it could be Premiership football up for grabs – IF it ends up being Raith Rovers and St Johnstone in the play-off final.
“Me and him had a wee chat about that the other week,” said Callum of the prospect of playing against each other again.
Smith: ‘I don’t really want it’
“Obviously, it’s looking like it’s going to be between them [St Johnstone] and Ross County to finish second bottom in the Premier.
“It’s tight down that end.
“If we do end up playing each other, it will be the third year in a row in the play-offs.
“And hopefully it will be third time lucky for me.
“For him, I’d rather it was Ross County in that position, because I don’t really want it to be me and him in the final again.
“That would mean it’s one up and one down, which we don’t want.
“But it’s on to the play-offs now and we’ll see what happens.”
Smith will move forward with confidence after grabbing a first-half double – and a late assist – in Friday’s 5-0 thrashing of Arbroath.
It was the 24-year-old’s first goals in five months and a well-timed boost for both him and the team following the disappointment in their title race with Dundee United.
“We thought it was important to get a win on Friday night, first and foremost,” he added. “And to put on a performance as well.
Important
“We thought that was important going into the play-offs.
“Especially for me, for my confidence as well, it was good to get a couple of goals. That was important going into the big games in the play-offs.
“As a team as well, getting goals was the main aim and we managed to do that.”
Smith might have had more. He had a couple of opportunities for his hat-trick and saw Lewis Vaughan twice scored from the penalty spot when he might have handed his team-mate the chance for a rare treble.
“He’s the penalty taker, so I’m not going to try to take the ball off him,” said Smith. “That’s not me. He’s the penalty taker and he’ll take the penalties.
“For the first one, I never did anything because it was still that stage in the game (2-0). There were no questions asked.
“For the second one, I had a wee look and he wasn’t letting go of that ball!
“I would be the same if I was the penalty taker; I’d be taking every single penalty.
“Fair play to him, I’m not the type of guy who’s going to make a big deal about it.
“Personally, I’ll take two goals and an assist. Getting the goals was the most important, but to get an assist is always nice.”
