Raith Rovers boss Grant Murray insists his side’s cup exploits this season have not been a distraction from the bread and butter league business.
The Kirkcaldy side took the scalp of Premiership Hibs in the Scottish Cup a fortnight ago, but then slumped to a 4-2 defeat at home last week to Championship rivals Hamilton.
Rovers have a Ramsdens Cup final with Rangers to look forward to in April as well as a Scottish Cup quarter-final with St Johnstone next month. However, the Stark’s Park boss believes his players will be fully focused on getting back to winning ways in the league with a difficult trip to Dumbarton.
Murray said: “I don’t see the cups as a distraction at all.
“We obviously have the Ramsdens final to look forward to as well as our Scottish Cup quarter-final against St Johnstone.
“But I believe our cup runs should instil belief and confidence in our players. The league campaign though is vitally important.
“There are still lots of points to play for and we will look to return to winning ways this weekend.”
He added: “I really didn’t see last week’s performance coming, especially after our great win the week before at Easter Road.
“Hamilton started really well and they are a good team at the top of the league but we should have done a lot better.
“We improved in the second half, but we had given ourselves a mountain to climb going four goals down.
“Every game in this division is so tight and it will be another tough test at Dumbarton. They are going really well and Ian Murray is doing a fantastic job down there.
“However, we will go there determined to win.”
Calum Elliot and Paul Watson have returned to training after injury, but the game has come too soon for them to make a comeback, while David McGurn will also miss out.