Cuthbert puts players before boss ambition

Former keeper aims to bounce back from Dingwall thrashing

Kevin Cuthbert is adamant he will not be distracted by his own chances of becoming manager as he bids to ensure Raith Rovers recover from last weekend’s thrashing against Ross County.

Cuthbert was placed in interim charge of the Kirkcaldy outfit following Barry Smith’s shock resignation as boss last week and will again lead the team against Brechin City tomorrow.

The Stark’s Park club are taking their time in the search for a successor, with another board meeting scheduled for Monday to devise a shortlist for interviews following applications from the likes of Lee Clark, Barry Robson and Massimo Donati.

Cuthbert is understood to be keen on the post himself after injury forced him to retire from playing in February and concentrate on building a coaching career.

However, the former St Johnstone, Morton, Ayr United and Hamilton Accies keeper insists his concentration is fully on bouncing back from Saturday’s 5-0 hammering from Ross County in the Irn-Bru Cup and not the job.

Asked if he had thrown his hat in the ring he said: “That’s not something that’s happened, I wouldn’t say that.

“At this minute in time, I’m only focusing on our game on Saturday. That’s my main focus, on making sure the players are ready.

“It’s about making sure Raith Rovers get a result against Brechin, it’s not about me. Do I want to be considered? I’m just focusing on Brechin.”

If Cuthbert does want to be considered for the job, he could not have anticipated a worse audition than seeing Rovers leak five goals in the first half against County.

However, the 36-year-old, who has the backing of the Raith squad, is adamant the experience can prove a positive one for him and his side.

He added: “You get tested in every walk of life, every day of the week.

“You get tested as a footballer and you get tested as a coach and it’s been an unbelievable learning curve for me.

“There will hopefully be a day when I look back on that game as a game that I learned a lot from and I think I have learned a lot from it.

“I’ve learned a lot about myself, in terms of what type of person I am. I couldn’t wait to get the video to watch it, to analyse it, to make us better and to make me better.

“Hopefully, we will learn from that and recognise exactly where we can improve and if we do that as a team, then it’s a lesson learned.”

Cuthbert has worked the Raith players hard this week but insists the tough schedule was not in any way a punishment for their slipshod display against County.

Rather, he claims the workload this week has all been designed to ensure Rovers keep their league aspirations on track.

He said: “The players have responded very, very well. You come in, you do your analysis and from there, once that’s done, the game’s done, you move on, whatever the result.

“You don’t rest on your laurels if you get a good result and you don’t dwell on it if you get a bad result.

“So, the players came in and worked hard, probably harder than they’ve worked this season on a Monday, did two sessions on Tuesday and worked extremely hard again on Thursday.

“They just need to go out and get a positive result against Brechin.

“We could potentially go top of the league. We’re undefeated in the league, we’ve won our last two league games and we’re building on that, rather than focusing on Ross County.”