JOHN McGLYNN has rallied Raith Rovers and called on them to ‘savour the moment’ as they bid to grasp their play-off ‘lifeline’ and win promotion to the Championship.
The Kirkcaldy club found themselves unable to put up a title challenge to Arbroath this term and, in the end, finished third behind Tuesday night’s semi-final opponents Forfar Athletic.
Having been relegated via the play-offs in 2017 and failed to come back up when defeated by Alloa Athletic in the end-of-season shoot-out 12 months ago, the Stark’s Park men will be hoping it is third time lucky this year.
And McGlynn has urged his full-time side to relish the pressure that comes with trying to haul the Fife outfit back up to the second-tier.
He said: “With Arbroath having such a substantial cushion, the play-offs have been facing us for some time. We’re very much excited about the situation, we’re excited to be in it and we think we’ve got a good chance.
“It’s a challenge now. We go into it as the third-placed team, we’re comfortable with the situation, we’ve planned and prepared, and I think we’re ready.
“I think it’s a good pressure. I think if you’re fighting relegation that’s a different proposition, a negative pressure, but the pressure we’ve got is good, we’ve got a lot to gain.
“We look for every single player to carry us through, we want every player to work their socks off and give 100 per cent for the jersey, everyone to show they want to play in the Championship next season.
“We’ve got to go out and really, really savour the moment, the time, the situation and not be scared of it.
“Let’s savour the fact we’re going to play in front of a big crowd and we’ve got an opportunity to be promoted to the Championship, a lifeline we wouldn’t have if there were no play-offs.
“We’ve got this opportunity and we need to make the most of it, that’s the way I’m looking at it.”
Forfar have had the upper hand in league clashes this season, with the Angus men winning both of their home games and drawing the most-recent meeting at Stark’s Park.
McGlynn added: “You only need to look at the league table. Forfar have finished above us, that tells you they are a good side.
“The games between us have been very tight so far, so we’ve got to expect that again.
“But, in every game we’ve played Forfar, we’ve created chances but haven’t taken them and been punished.
“It’s up to us to make sure, over the two games, we create those chances and take more of them, and have one goal more than them at the end.”
