FONTAINE EAGER TO END RUN OF THE ROVERS

HIBERNIAN defender Liam Fontaine hopes to use today’s game against Raith Rovers to pile the pressure on tabletopping Rangers. Alan Stubbs’ side are in action a clear 24 hours before the Ibrox side face a testing trip to meet St Mirren in Paisley. ‘Rangers have not really had any pressure because they have made such a good start,’ said Fontaine (below). ‘We go first and if we can get the win, then it’s going to put a little bit of pressure on them. ‘It is up to us to put our three points on the board and, if we do that, then they have to go out on Sunday and respond. ‘It’s still early in the season and we still have to play Rangers a few times. It’s going to be great couple of weeks for the club.’ Three points today for Hibs are far from a certainty, however, against the Ladbrokes Championship dark horses this season. Raith have a 100-per-cent record at Stark’s Park under Ray McKinnon and have conceded only one goal in their five league games in Kirkcaldy. ‘They have a great home record to be fair to them,’ Fontaine admitted. ‘You always expect them to be well organised, especially when they come up against us.’ Raith midfielder Scott Robertson will go up against his former team for the first time today and insisted yesterday that Stubbs has assembled a stronger squad than last season. Robertson joined Ray McKinnon’s side three weeks ago following a two-month spell in Romania’s top flight with FC Botosani. And the experienced playmaker acknowledges that Raith face a tough challenge in trying to leapfrog Hibs back into second place in the Championship this afternoon. ‘I think the only difference from last season would be that Hibs have a lot more depth,’ he said. ‘They rotated again for the midweek win over Falkirk, with Liam Fontaine dropping to the bench, so they have that ability to rest players. ‘There is plenty of competition for places and I would say overall, they have a stronger squad this season. ‘From a Hibs perspective, Raith were a tricky fixture last season. We only won one of the four games. I’d like to think we can cause them problems again, starting on Saturday.’