Raith Rovers are celebrating a double after manager Grant Murray signed a new long-term contract and the club posted a five-figure profit in their annual accounts.
The 38-year-old player/manager has penned a deal until the summer of 2016 after impressing in his maiden coaching role since taking over from John McGlynn in July last year.
Murray’s back-room staff assistant manager Paul Smith and player/first-team coach Laurie Ellis have also agreed two-and-a-half year extensions after talks with the Stark’s Park board.
The trio, who have guided Rovers into the Championship play-off zone and to a lucrative Ramsden’s Cup final against Rangers next year, were previously out of contract next summer.
Raith chairman Turnbull Hutton, meanwhile, has joked that the Kirkcaldy club are “waiting for our open-top bus parade” after posting an £81,350 profit for the year ending June 2013.
As reported in Courier Sport on Wednesday, the positive figures are due to a turnover of just over £1 million an 18.3% rise from the previous year achieved thanks to impressive cup performances, including earning a televised Scottish Cup tie against Celtic.
The Stark’s Park outfit remain £605,000 in debt, reduced from a recent peak of £1.4 million in 2011, however, the majority of that is due to current directors or attributable to historic loans.
And Hutton has praised Murray’s impact and the club’s recent budgeting efforts for the “massive achievement” of turning a profit in 2013, and believes Rovers are well on the way to repeating the feat in 2014.
He said: “I’ll be waiting for the local authority to lay on our open-top bus for the tour of Kirkcaldy! It is a massive achievement in the current climate to register a profit.
“We were obviously helped last year by the progression the team made in the cup, the Celtic games and things like that.
“These matches are a huge bonus for Raith Rovers – as we are a club that does not budget for those extras – and that can make a huge difference as you attempt to balance the books and register a profit.
“He has done the same for us this year by reaching the Scottish Cup fifth round and the Ramsden’s Cup final so, even at this early stage, we would be optimistic of launching another profit next year.
“But even beyond that, we have had a rigorous budgetary plan in place for the past two years with a view to getting to this point and it is gratifying to reach it.”