McGlynn using his past Parkhead lessons

JOHN mcGlYNN used to put in endless hours and thousands of air miles to ensure no stone was left unturned for Celtic. Now he is hoping all that hard work can help Raith Rovers pull off a cup shock against them. Before returning as manager to Stark’s Park, mcGlynn had a spell in the backroom staff at Parkhead. Scouting opposition teams for Brendan Rodgers, the former Hearts and livingston boss saw some of Europe’s elite teams in action. Not only did that change his outlook on how he now wants his Rovers team to play, it also gave him an insight into Celtic’s mentality and approach. And even though Ange Postecoglou is now the man in charge of the Glasgow giants, mcGlynn still feels his time with Thursday’s opposition could prove invaluable for the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final.

He said: ‘The latter couple of years was looking at the opposition and not only was I learning from Celtic, I was learning from the opposition. ‘Some of the games I was going to — Barcelona, PSG, Bayern munich — it was all the top teams in Europe. You can’t not learn from that, seeing the way they play. ‘The scouting I did prior to that with Celtic allowed me to learn from John Park and learn about their recruitment side of things. ‘learning the way they went about things has definitely helped me here (Raith Rovers). I believe I am a better manager for that. ‘I’m not going to be derailed in my thoughts just because they lost on Sunday. It’s going to be a big challenge.’

●JOHN McGLYNN was speaking at a Premier Sports Cup event. Premier Sports is available on Sky, Virgin TV and the Premier Player. Prices start from £10.99 per month.