Boss McGlynn tops Stark’s Park injury list

Raith Rovers boss John McGlynn insists he will be ready to take his place in the Stark’s Park dugout against Clyde – despite suffering his an injury scare of his own, writes Alan Temple.

McGlynn, 57, suffered a calf strain in a freak incident during Rovers’ 1-0 triumph against Dumbarton last weekend and required medical treatment from club physio Iain Williamson towards the end of the first period.

He was in visible distress for the rest of the match – albeit he bravely remained in the dugout – and was unable to conduct his media duties after the fixture.

McGlynn admits the recovery has been a slow process this week. Nevertheless, he has still been able to oversee training and is hopeful the damage will not be too obvious when he is prowling the touchline this afternoon.

“I’m feeling a bit better,” smiled McGlynn. “I can just about walk without a limp. Hopefully, by the time kick-off comes around on Saturday, nobody will be able to notice it.

“I pulled my calf muscle and it was quite a painful one. I had to look after it on Saturday night and through Sunday so that I was even able to get into work on Monday morning.”

A more pressing concern for McGlynn is how his players shape up against newly-promoted Clyde, who kicked off their own League One campaign with a creditable 1-1 draw against East Fife last week.

And the Rovers gaffer is wary of a substantial ex-Stark’s Park contingent – most notably in the form of manager Danny Lennon – arriving in Fife with a point to prove.

McGlynn continued: “I thought Clyde were unlucky not to win League Two, given the points they got deducted, and then did exceptionally well to come up through the play-offs.

“They’ll be keen to build on a good point last week and of course you’ve got Danny Lennon, a former Raith Rovers player, wanting to come back here and get a positive result. David Goodwillie and wee Chrissy Johnston are in the same boat.

Raith were far from their fluent best in beating the Sons last week – but took all three points courtesy of a Grant Anderson strike.

McGlynn hopes that is a sign of things to come this term.

He added: “It’s not a bad thing not to play great but still win. We didn’t do that enough last season.”