Smith insists Raith will only focus on winning in title battle

Raith RoveRs: Boss knows all his men can do is concentrate on winning their games if they are to land the championship

Barry Smith insists his Raith side are only looking out for themselves after clawing back three points on League One leaders Ayr United on Tuesday night.

Raith know they need the Honest Men to slip up in the final few games of the season if they’re to have any chance of landing the championship.

But boss Smith, who watched his side beat East Fife 2-0 in midweek thanks to Bobby Barr and Iain Davidson goals, says it crucial Raith concentrate only on taking care of their own business – starting this weekend when Brian Kerr brings his Albion Rovers side to Kirkcaldy.

He said: “We’re just focusing on making sure we win because it doesn’t matter otherwise.

“We have to keep our focus for Albion Rovers at home on Saturday.”

Rovers had to work for their win over their Kingdom counterparts at Stark’s Park, with the Methil men having the best of the first half until Barr’s breakaway strike.

But Smith reckons his side were always comfortable despite having to soak up some early pressure.

“We deserved the win and when it comes down to it we’ve scored two good goals,” he said.

“The second half we maybe could have scored another couple.

“East Fife kept the ball well but didn’t really hurt us which I think was down to our good defending.

“It could have gone either way but once we got the goal it seemed to calm everybody down.

“We passed the ball a lot better after that and created more opportunities.”

Despite East Fife having large periods of possession in the Fife derby, Raith keeper Aaron Lennox was rarely troubled by the Methil attack.

That was partly due to a stand out, man-of-the-match performance from centre half Iain Davidson who put the shackles on Methil talisman Chris Duggan.

“We don’t normally single players out but I thought Iain was outstanding with his organisation and going to win headers,” said the Stark’s Park boss.

“Chris Duggan is a good player who I’ve worked with.

“He’s a handful, but I don’t think we were tested because ‘Davo’ was on the top of his game.”

We’re just focusing on making sure we win because it doesn’t matter otherwise. BARRY SMITH

Picture: SNS. Iain Davidson was outstanding for Rovers against kingdom rivals East Fife.