Raith’s Scott Robertson knows more than most about the intense pressure today’s opponents Hibs will be under in the second leg of the Ladbrokes Premiership play-off quarter-final.
Rovers will travel to Edinburgh holding a one-goal advantage after beating Alan Stubbs’ side at Stark’s Park on Wednesday night.
Despite that, the bookies have made Hibs firm favourites to progress to the semi-finals.
However, Robertson, who left Hibs last summer after one and a half seasons at the club, is fully aware of the huge expectations on the home players’s shoulders this lunchtime.
And he hopes if Raith can frustrate them as they did on Wednesday, then the Hibs fans’ desperation may start to affect the team and Ray McKinnon’s men can take advantage.
Robertson said: “Having the goal advantage will be good going to Easter Road. It will give us something to protect but we won’t be just going there to sit in and hang on for 90 minutes.
“We definitely feel that we can pose a threat to Hibs at Easter Road.
“We’d like to think that if we can keep it at 0-0 or even get another goal, then the fans will show their frustration.
“It’s going to be a cagey affair like the first leg was. It wasn’t a classic game but it was a battle that we came through with flying colours.
“Their fans are just desperate to get back into the Premiership and their desperation maybe translates to the players.
“They can play good football and have loads of chances but if you don’t win games . . .
“In the first leg, Hibs probably had a lot more shots at goal than we did, but we won the game 1-0. We’ll take a similar sort of performance and result on Saturday.
“The manager’s just ingraining into everybody that as soon as we set foot on the pitch, we are more than capable of beating any team we are up against.
“We are solid as unit, defensively first and foremost. We’ve got players with skill and pace who can really hurt teams.”
Rovers’ play-off preparations have been overshadowed this week by intense speculation surrounding their boss’s future, with McKinnon being installed as the firm favourite to succeed Mixu Paatelainen in the Dundee United managerial hot-seat.
Robertson insists that the Raith players have remained fully focused on facing Hibs but he admitted he was not surprised that McKinnon, who was named the Championship manager of the Month again on Thursday, is being linked with a move away from Stark’s Park.
The 30-year-old midfielder added: “We’re all trying to be as professional as we can. If the season was coming to an end in less exciting fashion, we could quite easily talk about it light-heartedly, but the fact we’re in the position we’re in, with so much to play for, we are all just trying to concentrate on what we have to do.
“Whenever the season does come to an end, we will all have a little bit of a laugh about it and hopefully keep the manager.
“I’m not surprised he’s being linked with the Dundee United job. He’s just won his second Manager of the Month award in a row and has managed to bring really good players to Raith Rovers.
“He’s got us into the position we’re in and we’re proving we’re more than capable of playing against the top teams.
“He’s got a little bit of everything. He knows when to speak calmly to players and when to lose the rag and he’s tactically astute.
“He’s a good man manager and he’s only been in the dug-out for about three years so he’ll keep improving.
“I hope he stays with Raith Rovers but there’s big speculation surrounding his future and I’m sure that will be decided after the play-offs.
“He’s proved he’s more than capable of getting results in the Championship which is where Dundee United will be next season.
“If you’re looking for anyone who knows this league and can win games in this league then I’m assuming he’s top of that list.”
