Raith’s James Craigen has a New Year resolution to start 2016 with a bang by taking points off one of the top three sides in the Championship for the first time this season.
Rovers have so far drawn a blank in their games against Rangers, Falkirk and Hibs but they travel to Easter Road on a five-match unbeaten run, having won their last game on the road at Morton, with Craigen netting a last-gasp winner from the penalty spot.
The 24-year-old midfielder is now looking for a repeat result at the home of the Hibees who are still reeling from their 4-2 defeat by Rangers at Ibrox on Monday.
Craigen said: “Hibs are a good team. They have beaten us 2-0 at Easter Road and 2-1 at Stark’s Park so far this season and they have been quite tight games.
“We maybe thought we could have come out with something in the last game.
“We are quite confident though as we haven’t been beaten for a while.
“I think we can go there and give it a go.
“We need to start taking points off the top three teams we haven’t done that so far this season.
“It is something we need to do so hopefully we can start the New Year with a bang and take something out of the game.
“It is all very well beating teams around us but doing that to the teams above us sends out a message.”
Craigen, like the rest of the Raith players, was left kicking his heels on Boxing Day with their game against Alloa called off because Stark’s Park was waterlogged.
While disappointed the match was postponed, it allowed the former Partick Thistle player more time to spend with his family back in Preston.
Craigen said: “We were all geared up for the game on Boxing Day but unfortunately the weather took it out of our hands.
“We wanted it on but there is nothing you can do when the pitch is under water like that.
“I went back to Preston for Christmas which was really good of the gaffer as I had not seen my family for a while.
“So I trained on Christmas Eve and then I went down there. The rest of the lads had a light session on Christmas morning so I also went for a jog just to keep ticking over.
“I was ready to come back for the game on Boxing Day but unfortunately it was off so I was able to stay there for another day or so.
“I had just set off when the gaffer called me to say there was a pitch inspection so to hang on a bit.”
Before he joined Partick, Craigen played for Edinburgh University while studying there and it is a time of his life he holds dear.
He added: “I had a great time there and met some top people who I am still friends with now.
“Obviously it opened doors to me to play professional football again.
“I played for the Great Britain University side over in China and the skipper of that team was the Inverness captain Gary Warren.
“I think he is a qualified PE teacher.
“There was also Danny Denholm who is at Forfar. We had a good team.
“I also got a degree while I was there in sports business management.
“Hopefully I will go into that after football but not for a while yet!”
Raith will definitely be without skipper Jason Thomson, Lewis Vaughan, Craig Barr and Grant Anderson for the Hibs game while there are doubts over Iain Davidson, Rory McKeown, Lewis Toshney and Darren Petrie.