BY IAIN COLLIN – Capital City Press
Had things worked out differently this summer, Ray McKinnon could have been in the St Mirren dugout tonight rather than in the opposition one.
However, the Raith Rovers manager knows enough about both clubs to suggest his own team will have to upset the odds to finish above the Buddies and in the promotion play-off places this season.
McKinnon has started impressively as Stark’s Park boss since taking over from Grant Murray in May, with five straight home victories giving the Fifers confidence ahead of this evening’s trip to Paisley.
But four consecutive losses on the road will also temper the expectations that McKinnon is adamant should be lower than the Buddies – if finances were the sole determining factor of success.
Asked about facing the club who interviewed him for their managerial vacancy before appointing Ian Murray, McKinnon said: “It honestly doesn’t faze me one bit. I didn’t give it a thought.
“I just want to win the three points and increase the gap between us and them – it’s as simple as that.
“We are currently four points ahead of them and if we win that increases to seven points. That is a big gap in this league as it is an incredibly-competitive division.
“Their budget dwarves ours and it would be a failure for them if they didn’t get into the top four this year.
“When you look at budgets it would be a big surprise if we were to get ourselves into the play-offs, although, of course, we’ll be doing our best to try and get there.
“But we will just concentrate on ourselves and getting three points.”?
@IainCollin
