The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Raith boss only focused on collecting six points
LEAGUE ONE: Smith says his team must keep up the pressure on title rivals Ayr
Raith boss Barry Smith insists that the slip-up by title rivals Ayr has not altered what he is demanding from his side in the two games of the regular season remaining.
Rovers were handed a possible lifeline last Saturday with the Somerset Park side losing to Stranraer as the Fife outfit were beating Queen’s Park at home.
The Honest Men’s defeat also came at a cost with their top striker Lawrence Shankland sent off and he will miss the last two games of the season through suspension after an unsuccessful appeal against his dismissal yesterday.
Ayr are now just two points ahead of Raith who make the long trip to Stranraer tomorrow before Ian McCall’s side play 24 hours later at Alloa with the game being shown live on BBC Alba.
If Smith’s men can win at Stair Park, they would then top the table before their season-long rivals play, but the Stark’s Park boss is simply looking for a positive result before contemplating what it could mean to Ayr.
The manager said: “It was an excellent win last week. First half we passed the ball well, there was good movement and goals.
“We just want the boys to take confidence from that.
“We have taken 13 out of a possible 15 points recently, we are defending well with three clean sheets out of five so there is a lot to be positive about.
“We now go to Stranraer and we know it will be a really tough game.
“They are difficult opposition so we have to go down there with the right mentality. We know what’s in front of us and we will be going to win the game – it is as simple as that.
“We cannot do anything about anybody else so we just have to make sure we win the next two games and if the worst-case scenario happens, then we are going in (to the play-offs) having taken 19 out of 21 points.
“But we are just focused on getting six points and then seeing what happens after that.”
When asked if he felt a Raith win could put extra pressure on Ayr, Smith replied: “We have to make sure we win our game. What happens after that, we cannot do anything about.
“Will it put pressure on Ayr? If they think about it but we have to make them think about it.”
Smith will take almost a full squad to Stranraer with two key players recovering from injury this week.
He added: “John Herron took a knock Saturday past and had to come off with it, but he has trained this week so he should be OK. Kyle Benedictus missed last week but he is also all right for the Stranraer game.
“Aaron Lennox is back doing some light training but he is still not fully fit and will miss out.”
Meanwhile, Ayr’s title dreams have been dealt a massive blow after talismanic striker Shankland was ruled out of the final two games of the season.
The former Aberdeen marksman will miss Sunday’s key clash away to Alloa Athletic and the last-day encounter with Albion Rovers through suspension after the Honest Men failed to overturn Saturday’s red card.
The 22-year-old was sent-off for elbowing defender Morgyn Neill in the 2-1 home defeat to Stranraer.
Ayr contested referee Euan Anderson’s decision but the Scottish FA’s Fast Track Tribunal has rejected the appeal, resulting in Shankland, who has netted 29 goals in just 33 appearances this term, sitting out a two-match ban at a crucial point in the campaign.