Grant Murray reckons the only way is up for his Raith Rovers side ahead of tomorrow’s Fife derby at Cowdenbeath.
The Kirkcaldy outfit went into last weekend’s game against Falkirk on the back of four straight league defeats a run that had heaped pressure on the Rovers manager and his players.
However, Rovers managed to edge in-form Falkirk 1-0 to improve their outlook heading into 2015, and Murray sees no reason why his men cannot get back into the promotion play-off picture.
“It was a timely win for us,” he admitted.
“We had both sides of it we were going through to play a team who were five games undefeated and also going through to play a team who, five games ago, were sitting below us in the league.
“So I said to the players it shows you how quick things can change.
“If you get a result like Falkirk did when they were below us in the league, you can get a bit of momentum, put five wins together and look at them now.
“There’s nothing stopping us doing that.
“We’ve never looked at things with doom and gloom.
“We’re not a team sitting at the bottom of the league, struggling and looking at where we’re going to get our next win from.
“We’ve had good results, we know we’ve had poor results, but there’s one thing for sure we always stress to the players that they are capable of winning games.
“They have proved that and everyone is judged on that kind of consistency.
“So for us now it’s about getting back to that.
“I’m delighted for the players getting the win on Saturday because for what they had been putting in in recent games, they weren’t getting their reward.
“The level of performance has been there but sometimes the luck hasn’t been there.
“You make your own luck in football, and sometimes the harder you work the luckier you get.
“A few things have gone against us in recent weeks but you’ve got to take that on the chin and move on, so I was delighted to see that on Saturday.”
Murray told Courier Sport that he was surprised to see the Fife derby fall on January 3 instead of the traditional New Year’s Day, but he reckons the slight shift in date will not take anything away from tomorrow’s atmosphere at Central Park.
He continued: “I’ve been involved in these games now for numerous years as a player and a manager.
“Any derby anywhere is a massive game to a lot of people – fans, players, staff.
“They are massive games and we’re certainly looking forward to this one on Saturday.
“As I stated earlier in the week, form and league position goes out of the window.
“It’s got to because these games are fast and physical games of football, and you’ve got to be ready on the day.”
Rovers were boosted this week by the news that winger Barrie McKay has had his loan deal from Rangers extended until the end of the season, so he will be available for the game against Cowden.
Midfielder Kevin Moon has done some light training this week but Murray revealed that he is likely to remain sidelined.