RETURN TO RAITH COULD BE TEMPTING

Ray McKinnon said he would be open to a sensational Raith Rovers return.

McKinnon, 51, enjoyed a superb campaign with the Kirkcaldy club in 2015-16, securing a fourth-place finish in one of the most competitive Championships in recent memory.

Rovers only trailed Rangers, Falkirk and Hibernian, and finished 19 points ahead of nearest challengers, Morton.

Although Raith lost out to Hibs in the Premiership play-off quarter-final, McKinnon’s efforts were enough to land him the Dundee United job in the summer of 2016.

He describes the decision to leave Raith as one of the hardest he ever made, with the lure of Tannadice just too strong.

Nevertheless, the former Brechin City, Morton, Falkirk and Queen’s Park manager remains highly-regarded as a coach by Stark’s Park decision-makers.

As such, his interest will certainly be given due consideration as they seek a successor to John McGlynn.

“Rovers was one of my fondest times in football and if the opportunity to speak to them came up, then I would certainly be open to that,” McKinnon told Courier Sport.

“I have brilliant memories there and you can see with their last two seasons there is real potential to push on.

“It was honestly one of the hardest decisions I ever made to leave Raith Rovers. The fans were brilliant with me and what we achieved that (2015-16) season was really special. I was very close to staying.

“But my kids are United fans, I played for the club for so many years and I was born in Dundee.

“It was such a big draw.

“It’s one of those situations where you ask, ‘would I regret not taking the Dundee United job for the rest of my days?’

“Not many people have had that honour. It was an emotional decision.”