Neill Collins goes into Friday night’s Fife derby seeking his first win as the new manager of Raith Rovers.
The 41-year-old made his bow in the Rovers dugout in Sunday’s SPFL Trust Trophy clash with Ayr United and saw his team throw away a two-goal lead to lose 3-2.
The trip to East End Park will now be his first taste of Championship football – and the local rivalry with the Pars.
Courier Sport has taken a look at how his predecessors at Stark’s Park have fared in their debuts in the fixture since the turn of the century.
Ian Murray – Draw
With Dunfermline having been relegated to League One, Murray had to wait a full season to face the Pars following his 2022 appointment as Raith boss.
When he did, the Viaplay Cup clash in July last year preceded a historic run in the fixture.
Rovers would go on to rack up an unprecedented five successive victories over their rivals.
But his first experience was a 1-1 draw after a Lewis McCann opener was cancelled out by Dylan Easton’s 38th-minute equaliser.
John McGlynn – Win
McGlynn arrived for his second spell in charge at Raith in September 2018 but also had to wait to face Dunfermline, this time because Rovers were in League One.
So, it was a Scottish Cup encounter that brought the old foes together in January 2019.
It turned into a famous 3-0 victory for the Kirkcaldy outfit as Lewis Vaughan bagged a second-half hat-trick following Lee Ashcroft’s red card.
It was the only derby between April 2017 and December 2020 and was raucously celebrated by the Raith supporters.
John Hughes – Defeat
Hughes took over a losing team when he was appointed boss in February 2017.
And, just two months later, they suffered another defeat in the season’s final derby as Raith headed for the drop into League One.
In a tight affair, a Kallum Higginbotham penalty sealed a 1-0 victory for Dunfermline in the Championship encounter.
Just a month later, Rovers succumbed to a calamitous relegation in a play-off defeat to Brechin City.
Gary Locke – Win
Appointed manager in the summer of 2016, Locke – an Edinburgh derby veteran – got his first taste of the Fife version in the August.
It was to prove an ill-fated tenure at Stark’s Park for the former Hearts player and head coach.
But he kicked things off against Dunfermline with a victory in the Championship.
Late goals from Bobby Barr and Mark Stewart earned Raith a 2–0 win against their local rivals.
Grant Murray – Defeat
Murray would go on to lead Rovers to their famous Ramsdens Cup triumph against Rangers in April 2014 during a near-three-year spell in charge.
But he did not fare as well against Dunfermline during his first season at the helm in 2012/13.
Winless against the Pars during that campaign, Murray’s first experience of the derby was a 3-1 defeat at East End Park in September 2012.
Brian Graham netted to reduce a first-half advantage earned for the Fifers by Ryan Wallace and Josh Falkingham.
But a certain Andy Barrowman, now the Raith chief executive, restored the hosts’ two-goal lead.
John McGlynn – Defeat
McGlynn would go on to enjoy better success in the Fife rivalry in his second spell in charge of Raith.
But in his first stint in charge at Stark’s Park, his debut derby defeat was typical of the first season.
It had been over nine years without the fixture when the teams met in the League Cup in August 2009.
And it was Dunfermline who came out on top with a 3-1 win.
An Andy Kirk double and a Mark Campbell own goal did the damage for the Pars, with Rovers briefly levelling things up early in the second-half with an Iain Williamson penalty.
Rovers won the next meeting but then lost the next three in the league- all by 2-1.
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