Raith Rovers manager John McGlynn reckons his side and Falkirk can serve up another great advert for the first division at Stark’s Park this Saturday simply because there’s little to choose between all of the teams in the league.
The Kirkcaldy club top the table going into the second half of the season, but it could have been even better for McGlynn’s men had they held on to a two-goal lead at home to Morton last week.
As it was, the 2-2 draw wasn’t a complete disaster for Rovers as they still moved two points clear of second-placed Dunfermline, having now played the same number of games as the Pars.
Falkirk are the visitors this weekend and Steven Pressley’s side haven’t been in the greatest form in recent weeks, having lost 1-0 away to Partick and Dundee after a 3-0 defeat to Queen of South in the Scottish Cup.
Nevertheless, McGlynn is well aware of the dangers the Bairns can pose and expects another close encounter.
He said, “I’ve said it all along that this is a very tight league with regards to every game and all it takes is a decision here, a mistake there, or a bit of magic, to win or lose a match.
“It only takes that to happen to you two or three times in a row and you’ve lost three matches, so we know every game is going to be difficult from here on in.
“I don’t know if that’s what’s happened to Falkirk in the last couple of games but we know how good they are and that they’ll be coming here to win on Saturday.”
He added, “The good thing is that we’ve been fairly consistent and we’re doing all the right things but sometimes the breaks just go against you.Consistent”We played very well in the first half against Morton but they did well to get back into it second half and we’ve done that to other teams this season.
“We’ve not been losing many goals this season but Saturday proved you just have to keep going for the 90 minutes and working hard, and that’s exactly what Morton did last weekend.”
Rovers midfielder Allan Walker admitted his side were gutted to throw away two points last week but would rather be top of the table at this stage than chasing.
He said, That’s us halfway through the season now and we’re two points clear.
“If you’d offered us that in pre-season we’d have bitten your hands off so we’re not going to get down about it.
“We were 2-0 down to Dunfermline and sneaked a draw so we kind of know what it’s like on both sides of the fence.”
He added, “We’ve now got a big game against Falkirk who will be looking to get a win to claw themselves back into it.
“They’ve had a couple of bad defeats so we’ll need to be on our toes and ready.”
Walker also hopes Rovers can start today’s game with the same positive attitude they did last week’s fixture.
He said, “We hadn’t scored in the first half in the last 10 games in the league so the gaffer asked us to get out the blocks early, play with a good tempo and get a couple of goals.
“That’s exactly what we did and I thought we were magnificent in the first half-they couldn’t live with us.
“We’re just sick we couldn’t hold on to a two-goal lead when we had three points in the bag.
“It was a great game, end to end, four goals pity it wasn’t three for us, but there’s always ups and downs in a season.”StrugglesIain Davidson remains touch and go to start as he struggles to shake off a knee injury, while striker Gary Wales stays sidelined.
A Raith victory over the out-of-sorts Bairns would open up a massive 13-point gap between the clubs and Pressley is fully aware of the challenge.
“Raith are doing great. John has built that club from the bottom up as well he really has.
“He has built that club back up from the foundations,” Pressley said.
“He has steadily every season built up his squad and every season he has seen progression.
“Honest, hard-working and very dedicated would be his qualities.
“It hasn’t surprised me at all that he has done so well.”
Pressley said, “We want to win the game, without doubt. We are far from out of this.
“It’s not beyond us this season to go back up far from it. Of course we can still do it.
“But tomorrow is a big game for us, a pivotal game in our season and we’re not hiding from that.”
Pressley, without suspended striker Carl Finnigan, said, “We continue to work hard on all the aspects.
“We just haven’t quite had the results of late, but we certainly haven’t lost the belief.
“We will desperately try and continue to get the right results and there is no doubt I believe they will come.”