Raith Rovers boss Ray McKinnon insists he will have no personal agenda at St Mirren tonight and instead is just fully focused on picking up three points.
The 45-year-old agreed to become the new Stark’s Park boss back in May however, prior to accepting the job, he had also committed to an interview for the vacant St Mirren post.
That was ultimately filled by Ian Murray but as he prepared to travel to Paisley tonight, McKinnon admitted that he did not have any extra incentive to do well just because it was a game against St Mirren.
He 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.
“But we will just concentrate on ourselves and getting three points.”
That aim will be incredibly tough against a Buddies outfit packed with experienced campaigners and with McKinnon admitting he has several injury headaches.
However, the manager is determined his side will finally pick up points on the road for the first time this season.
He said: “Craig Barr, Lewis Vaughan and Ross Callachan are still out.
“Mitch Megginson is struggling after picking up a knock in training on Monday on his toe.
“Lewis Toshney also missed training as he is feeling his hamstring while Iain Davidson has a tight calf.
“So I do not have my problems to seek for the St Mirren game.
“It is another tough away match. They apparently have a full-strength team available.
“They are all fit and they have some bench as well with boys like the Aberdeen lad that we tried to get, Lawrence Shankland.
“So they have a strong squad.
“They have lads like Andy Webster, Jamie Langfield, Steven Thompson, Jim Goodwin . . . the spine of their team is strong.
“They are a good team and it will be a really tough game for us.”