BY IAIN COLLIN – @CCP_sport
Ray McKinnon has hailed his backroom team as Raith Rovers head into the New Year firmly in the hunt for a shot at promotion.
The Kirkcaldy club are three points clear in fourth place and have a game in hand over Morton below.
It has been an impressive start to full-time management for McKinnon, who took over from Grant Murray in the summer following spells in charge of Lochee United and Brechin City.
And the former Dundee United and Aberdeen midfielder is thrilled with the way his support staff of assistant Grant Johnson and coaches Darren Taylor and Laurie Ellis have blended impressively.
Ellis was already at Stark’s Park full-time, whilst Johnson and Taylor are looking at stepping up their part-time roles in the coming weeks.
McKinnon said: “Both Grant and Darren have full-time jobs, and they’ve got good jobs. Grant tries to get in once a week, if he can, and that’s something we’re going to look at going forward. Darren will also come in one morning a week, in due course.
“Then Laurie’s in every day with me. He’s a good lad and knows the club really well. He knows a lot of the things around the club that it took me ages to get to know. That’s great.
“He’s been excellent, he works hard and he’s diligent. He’s doing a great job.
“It’s brilliant to have Grant and Darren with me, boys who I trust, and the players love Darren and Grant as well.
“It’s a good wee group, everybody does their job and it works well.”
