Raith boss hoping to unearth a gem

McKinnon runs rule over young Serb striker being compared to Hearts ace Juanma

Raith Rovers boss Ray McKinnon has spoken of his efforts to increase his striking options following the arrival of Marko Vucanovic on trial.

The Stark’s Park manager is running the rule over the 20-year-old Serbian, who had a previous spell on trial with Inverness last season and most recently played in Spain for Sabadell.

While it is still early days for the player with Rovers, McKinnon is keeping his fingers crossed that he has unearthed a gem who could have a similar impact to Hearts’ Spanish import, striker Juanma, who has begun his career with the Jambos by netting three goals in just his first four league games.

McKinnon said: “We have another trialist, Marko Vukanovic, in from Spain and he comes highly recommended. We will have a look.

“You might unearth a gem, you might not, but we are certainly looking.

“He scored seven goals in seven appearances and I’ve checked him out.

“He’s still only 20, so we’ll just need to wait and see what happens.

“He was at Sabadell last season,” he said.

“I spoke to someone about him and he told me he was in the same mould as this boy at Hearts, Juanma, so let’s hope so,” he added.

Rovers’ Petrofac Cup defeat at Stenhousemuir was made worse by the late red card issued to skipper Jason Thomson.

Raith have appealed against his dismissal and McKinnon stressed they believe they have a convincing case – one backed by the Stenny players and management.

He said: “It was the last minute of the game and the boy has come in for a tackle and put his foot over the ball,” he said.

“Jason has gone to kick it, just as the referee is blowing for a foul, and the referee has given a red card.

“To be fair to the Stenny players and staff, they have all said it’s not a red card and promised to back us up on that. “We are appealing it. “Whether we win or not is another matter, but at least we have testament from the Stenny players, which is great,” he added.

“It would have been an immediate ban if we hadn’t appealed it, but he can play the next two games now.”

While Thomson is available for tomorrow’s league game against Alloa, Kyle Benedictus is suspended after receiving his marching orders against Falkirk last weekend.

McKinnon added: “Everyone is fit apart from Lewis Vaughan and Craig Barr.

“Benny is suspended on Saturday, which is a blow, because we are trying to get a solid back four and all we are doing is chopping and changing. “I could do without these red cards.” While McKinnon is looking to increase his striking options, he admits he is confident that on-loan Dundee forward Craig Wighton will make a big impact once he opens his scoring account for Rovers.

The manager added: “He needs a goal.

“He has had two or three chances, and when he gets his goal he’ll be OK.

“He is only 18 years of age and that can bring inconsistencies.

“He can improve his performances, too, and get himself into the game and on the ball in the right areas.

“He influences matches in flashes and hopefully he can bring more of that into the game over 90 minutes.”

Picture: Kris Miller. Raith have appealed against the red card issued to Jason Thomson in the defeat at Stenhousemuir.