Baird believes Rovers are ready to return
John Baird believes Raith Rovers have proved they are Championship class as they aim for a league and cup double.
The League One Fifers eased past struggling second-tier bottom dogs Partick Thistle on Friday night to reach the Tunnock’s Caramelwafer Challenge Cup Final.
The Final against either Inverness Caley Thistle of Rangers Colts on March 20 will give Baird the chance of his third medal in the competition. But he knows that promotion is massive for the club.
He helped St Mirren win the competition in 2005/ 06, and famously scored the winner against recovering Rangers in the 2014 Final during his first spell in Kirkcaldy.
A third medal would be lovely – but he wants to double it up with getting into the Championship come the end of the campaign.
Baird said: “We have the target of winning this cup and the league. We’re going for it.
“Thistle are a league above us, and playing full- time teams most weeks, but we showed we could match them.
“We’ve come to Firhill and won in a semi- final and we deserved it.
“There’s no doubt that if we can get promotion, we will be competitive in the Championship. The hard part is getting out of our division.
“Look at Arbroath. They’ve proved they can mix it in the Championship, and they have been excellent.
“I was actually involved with St Mirren in the 2005/ 06 competition. I was involved in every round but I couldn’t get into the 16 for the Final against Hamilton Accies.
“I was the 17th man, but Mark Reilly gave me his medal which was really good of him.
“Of course, the 2014 Final against Rangers speaks for itself.
“I saw what that did for the club, for the fans and the town. Now we have an opportunity to do that again.
“It really frustrates me when people write the Challenge Cup off. It’s really disrespectful.
“There only are three cup competitions you can win in Scotland. It’s all about making memories.
“My family still talk about 2014, and now we have another shot at a Final. What a boost it would be if we could win it, and it could help us win promotion.”
The misery continues for Thistle, who have now lost six of their last seven games. But Jags striker Lewis Mansell insists they will survive.
Mansell said: “It’s still very tight at the bottom. There aren’t many points between four or five teams so, there’s plenty to play for.
“If we can string a few results together, we can stay up, and I don’t see any reason why we can’t.”