Barry Robson has backed Lewis Vaughan to step up for Raith Rovers following the departure of the injured Finlay Pollock.
On-loan Pollock has returned to parent club Hearts after sustaining a season-ending hamstring issue in last weekend’s 1-0 win over Ayr United.
Following scans, the 20-year-old is still waiting for final clarity on how to proceed with his recovery.
With Raith already missing strikers Jack Hamilton and Callum Smith, attacking options are thin on the ground.
However, Vaughan, last season’s top scorer with 19 goals, has himself now fully recovered from hamstring surgery.
And Robson is confident the 29-year-old can help Rovers as they shoot for a promotion play-off place.
“We’ve not had much luck with strikers since I’ve been here,” Robson said in a conversation with Courier Sport.
“We’ve just seen Lewis return recently and now we’ve lost Finlay, and obviously we’re already without Jack [Hamilton] and Callum [Smith].
“So, it’s not been easy to try and freshen up our attack and mix and match them and help them, and be even more aggressive as a team.
Robson: ‘Vaughan can score goals’
“But Lewis [Vaughan] is one that I really like as a player. Everybody knows that.
“We’re taking our time with him. We’ve started him and we’ve put him on as a sub.
“And he’s got a lot more training time in him as well.
“So, yes, he’s a good player, a good kid and he’s one that can come into the team and score goals. It’s good to have him back.”
As well as their striking issues, Raith were also short in defence for last weekend’s win over Ayr.
Euan Murray and Liam Dick were both unavailable through injury and Paul Hanlon battled through the pain barrier to last the 90 minutes.
However, all three have trained in recent days and should be fit to face bottom side Airdrie as Rovers seek to close the gap on Partick Thistle three points ahead in fourth.
“It’s a huge game for us again,” added Robson. “And it’s a difficult game. Airdrie are in a false position in the league.
“We need to concentrate and hopefully we can get the fans behind us and create a good atmosphere to help us along the way.”
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