The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Rovers go into topof-the-table match with team ‘on fire’
John McGlynn has pledged Raith Rovers will be better than any other team Arbroath have come up against this season.
The pair face each other in a mouth-watering top-of-the-table clash at Gayfield tomorrow with Arbroath enjoying a massive 13-point advantage at the summit of League 1.
The Red Lichties have pieced together a remarkable run this season, with 14 wins and three draws from their 17 league games.
Rovers were the last team to take points off Dick Campbell’s high-flyers, when they drew 1-1 at Stark’s Park back in October, and McGlynn is convinced the Kirkcaldy men can go one further tomorrow.
He said: “Arbroath are very good at what they do.
“They’re very direct, they’ll play the ball long and try to get the ball out to guys like Bobby Linn, and they’ve got good strikers as well.
“We know their strengths and they keep on winning games, which is a great habit to be in.
“But we need to stop that, we’re the next team up to try to do that. We were the last team to take points off them in the league and that shows you how well they’ve done to not drop any points since.
“We go up there on the back of winning four out of five and we’ll look to cause them problems.
“We’re very much looking forward to the game. We’ll have to compete, we’ll have to dig in, that’s the type of team that Arbroath are.
“But they’ve got quality and that’s how they get their goals, and we need to match them in that direction.
“At the same time, we’ve got players who are on really good form, who are on fire at the moment, and they won’t have come up against a team who have played as well as us.”
McGlynn’s bullishness is in part down to him having a stronger squad after the return from injury of some key players.
Attacker Lewis Vaughan scored in last weekend’s 4-2 win over Dumbarton, in what was his comeback after nine weeks out, and Callum Crane is back and available to face Arbroath following a knee problem.
With striker Chris Duggan also fit and injuries having hampered the campaigns of the likes of Grant Gillespie, Lewis Milne and Regan Hendry at various times, McGlynn insists Rovers could be in a far better position.
He added: “I can guarantee that if we had had our players available since we came in, we wouldn’t be so far behind them – there’s no doubt about that.
“But our squad is strengthening up and we can now make changes that will make an impact.
“Everyone here knows Lewis (Vaughan) is a tremendous player and we’ve missed him – there’s no doubt about that.
“I think we’d have a good few more points on the board if Lewis had been available for all these games we’ve played, particularly the three games we’ve lost. With Lewis in the team I don’t think that would have happened.
“So, it’s great to have him back, absolutely brilliant, and great that he got on the pitch and great that he scored. It’s only good for the team and the club.”