The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Raith’ s whip hand to help tame Lions
Regan Hendry is adamant Raith Rovers have nothing to fear at Livingston today after what he called the most impressive performance in which he has ever played.
Hendry reckons it is the Lions who might be the apprehensive side in today’s Scottish Cup tie in West Lothian following Raith’s Fife derby midweek performance.
Hendry turned in a scintillating display in the heart of midfield as Rovers demolished dismal Dunfermline 5-1 on Tuesday night, netting the opener and pulling the strings throughout.
And he reckons Rovers can hold their own against Premiership opposition if they can play half as well again this afternoon.
Hendry said: “I was saying to Bene (Kyle Benedictus) after the game, it was the best performance
I have ever
– by far.
“That’s credit to the boys because we’ve had it hard over the last couple of weeks and not won as many games as we would like. Tuesday night showed what we are all about.
“This is another big game for the club. Playing in the Scottish Cup, we want a good run and if we play half as well as we did on Tuesday night we’ll give ourselves a chance.
“Hopefully, we
Livi a bit.
“We aren’t favourites to win the game so we can relax, pass the ball, stick to our game and if we get beat then we have been beaten by a Premiership team.”
Revenge was on the mind of Raith stars as they took the Pars apart at Stark’s Park, consummately making amends for their chastening 4-1 defeat at Dunfermline in February.
And Hendry is similarly been a part of scared determined to right a few wrongs after being eliminated from the Scottish Cup by Livi last term, throwing away the lead in the dying stages to lose 3-1.
Rovers were far from outclassed against the Lions but succumbed to sloppy errors and gave away two penalty kicks, which were converted by Steven Lawless.
Hendry added: “We had Livi last year and they are a tough team to play against but we kind of owe them one, just like we did with Dunfermline.
“We don’t see the cup as an unwanted distraction. We have a big, fit squad that just wants to keep playing and winning games.
“I just want to play football, league or cup, and there is nothing more enjoyable than playing like we did against Dunfermline.
“They have a style of play which is hard to play against and suits them, which we know from last year. But we gave them a good game last time and could have gone through.”
The encounter in West Lothian is also an opportunity for Hendry, out of contract this summer and already attracting admiring glances, to showcase his top-tier potential.
The former Celtic midfielder said: “I just want to go as high as I can and hopefully we can do special things at Raith.
“I’m not wanting to jinx anything but it’d be good to get a decent play-off run and, once you are there, anything can happen.”
Meanwhile, Rovers have confirmed the pre-contract signing of Hearts skipper Christophe Berra, as exclusively revealed by Courier Sport on Thursday evening.