Ian Murray has revealed that ‘brilliant’ Scott Brown will stay as Raith Rovers’ captain for the new season.
The versatile midfielder skippered the Stark’s Park side to runners-up spot in last term’s Championship title race with Dundee United.
The Kirkcaldy outfit then fell just short in the Premiership play-off final against Ross County after squeezing past Partick Thistle in the semi-final.
Raith are aiming to go one better next year and have strengthened their squad for the campaign ahead.
Callum Fordyce, 32, brings the experience of having been Airdrie’s assistant-manager for the past two years. Meanwhile, Lewis Stevenson, 36, adds the know-how of 600 games at first-team level.
Stevenson’s former Hibernian team-mate, Paul Hanlon, 34, was officially named captain of the Easter Road side in 2021 after wearing the armband on numerous occasions.
The new signings bring a wealth of knowledge and leadership to Rovers.
But Murray is happy for Brown to stay in the skipper’s role after steering the team with assurance on the pitch last season.
“Broony, if and when he’s playing, will be the captain of the team,” the Rovers boss told Courier Sport.
‘We’ve signed a lot of big characters’
“He’s done brilliant for us since he’s come in and in taking on the armband.
“We’ve signed a lot of big characters, that’s for sure, and guys that have been captains of other teams.
“But that’s not going to stop other boys from demanding and barking orders and telling people when things aren’t good enough – and also telling people when things are good enough.
“We’re building a really, really strong squad in terms of mentality and attitude and demands.
“For me, the more of those kinds of players we have the easier my life will be.”
Meanwhile, Murray has not ruled out a possible move for freed Airdrie striker Gabby McGill.
Murray signed McGill in 2021 during his spell in charge of the Diamonds before he left to take over at Raith a year later.
The former Dunfermline marksman was a shock departure from the Lanarkshire outfit earlier this month and has since been linked with St Johnstone, Partick Thistle and Raith.
“I saw we were linked with Gabby,” said Murray.
‘He’s a wee bit unorthodox at times’
“I was probably a wee bit surprised Gabby left Airdrie, because he was doing really, really well, especially in the second half of the season.
“I’ve always liked Gabby. He’s a wee bit unorthodox at times. But he was a good player when I was at Airdrie and he was a good player last season.
“It might be a case of seeing what happens further down the line.
“But, at the moment, we’ve had a busy week with getting back to training and we’ve been pretty quiet [with recruitment].”
