Raith Rovers striking duo Gregory Tade and John Baird say they are determined to down near neighbours Dunfermline in the eagerly-awaited Fife derby.
Despite being so early on in the season, a crowd well in excess of 6000 is set to pack into Stark’s Park for a fixture which has the added spice of being a top-of-the-table clash as well as a source of bragging rights for fans.
Although the front two haven’t been with the Kirkcaldy club as long as some other players, both are all too aware of how important their roles in today’s drama could be particularly when a goal in a Fife derby usually cements your place in Rovers folklore.
The pair have combined to great effect so far and Tade, who stripped down this week for an Irn-Bru promotional event, is keen to expose the Pars’ weaknesses this afternoon.
He said, “With any derby game you get more people coming to the game and you can feel the atmosphere; but from my point of view it’s another league game and we need to win every league game.
“I don’t think the fans would be happy if we won the four derby games and then got relegated, but you always want to win these games.
“We need to be positive and think about it as a game first and foremost.
“We need to approach every game with the same confidence that we’re going to score goals.
“We have four strikers and the gaffer plays two strikers up front so it’s good for us because it keeps us on our toes.
“At the moment me and Bairdy are on the pitch-I don’t know about this weekend but we work hard week in week out to do our best for the team.
“Competition makes you aware of your standard and if it drops you know you could be out of the team.”
After some close encounters between the sides last term, Tade is expecting another tight game today and has a lot of respect for the Pars.
“If we start the game well I would like to hope we would be all over them and on top of them for 90 minutes, but I don’t think that’s going to happen,” he added.
“I think it’s going to be another close contest again.
“I haven’t seen them play yet but they play very good football the start of the season proved it.
“Last season they had a couple of bad results and didn’t make it but Dunfermline are one of the teams that can win the title.”
After joining Rovers in the summer, Tade’s strike partner Baird will get his first taste of Fife derby action today.
“I’ve been told all about it by a few of the boys and the kitman so I know it’s going to be a big game with a big crowd,” he said.
“Things have been going well so far but we’ve got to keep working hard, keep playing well and winning games.
“We’ve got a good dressing room here and a great bunch of boys and I think we’re all at a good age where we want to keep progressing.
“Obviously I just want to play at the highest level I can the manager hasn’t set any targets so we’ll see where this takes us.”
Something has got to give when the Fife sides go head-to-head today, although Rovers boss John McGlynn admits he will have little difficulty motivating his players for the fixture.
“It’s an easy game to get up for, whether you are a fan, player, manager or director of either club,” McGlynn said.
“We didn’t have the best record against them last year but there wasn’t an awful lot in most of the games and we’ll be going all out to rectify that on Saturday.”
Rovers captain Iain Davidson will return to the squad after sitting out the last two games through suspension, although long-term absentee Mark Campbell remains sidelined.
Meanwhile, Dunfermline’s Austin McCann (pictured) insists anyone who isn’t up this match shouldn’t be playing.
The Pars skipper insisted he won’t need to say a word to his team-mates to prepare them for the game.
McCann said, “Nobody will need motivated by the time kick-off comes.
“I won’t need to say anything. Anybody that needs motivating for a game like this shouldn’t be playing.
“You know what it’s all about and what’s at stake.”
What’s at stake is the chance to bag all three points and go clear at the top of the first division.
“It’ll be an exciting game and something to look forward to,” McCann added.
“It’s a top of the table clash so there’s something to the game already.
“Raith are flying just now, they have started really well.
“They have got goals throughout the team but we know what their threats are and hopefully we can snuff them out on the day.”
McCann believes the Pars fans could play as big a role as they did in the side’s 1-0 victory over Falkirk on the opening day of the season.
A crowd of nearly 7000 turned up at Falkirk Stadium that day.
“Hopefully the fans will be out in force like they were at the first game and they’ll back us to victory,” the 30-year-old said.
“The atmosphere at Falkirk was brilliant. The fans were phenomenal. It was a tough, tough game but they helped us over the finishing line.
“It should be even bigger against Raith. I’m looking forward to it.
“We are only three games in and this is our second derby, so it’s been an exciting start to the season.”
Manager Jim McIntyre reckons the match is even more important than the one against Falkirk.
“This for me is the bigger of the two derbies,” he said.
“It is the Fife derby with two big clubs involved.
“Both sides have made a good start to the season and that sets the game up nicely. They were great games to be involved in last year.
“We’ll be going there to try and win but we are under no illusions how difficult it will be. We expect a really tough game.”
McIntyre added, “It’s a derby so the players know the importance of the match.
“The majority of the squad is still here from last season, so they know what it means and they know what the game is all about.
“We have just got to go out there and try and get the three points, that’s the be all and end all.
“We are really looking forward to it.”