Raith Rovers manager Ian Murray was worried earlier in the week that his side would be heavily depleted going into the weekend.
The Kirkcaldy club have slowly built their squad since the new boss arrived in the summer, with players now returning from long-term injuries.
Ross Matthews made his return in the SPFL Trust Trophy victory over Cove Rangers last weekend and has trained all this week.
❗ Connor McBride sending the Rovers to round 4⃣!#SPFLTrustTrophy | @RaithRovers pic.twitter.com/xPEUbhSRDn
— SPFL (@spfl) September 26, 2022
At the start of the week Murray thought he would be going back to reduced numbers for Saturday’s match away to Queen’s Park.
Four players have since shaken off knocks and should be available for selection.
‘I now have decisions to make’
Murray said he now has many more selection options than two months ago.
“It pushes everybody on,” he told Courier Sport.
“I said to the players this morning, I have decisions to make – and I didn’t really have any decisions to make eight weeks ago.
“It certainly improves the quality in the squad in terms of demands and what’s expected.
“Now there are players breathing down each other’s necks.
“We’ve asked a lot of players to play a lot of football this season. We’ve got to be mindful of that as well.
Players return
Jamie Gullan trained today for the first time since he picked up a groin injury versus Inverness.
Sam Stanton has recovered a week ahead of schedule and Kyle Connell and Dylan Easton have recovered from minor injuries.
Thomas Lang and Lewis Vaughan meanwhile are both “making very good progress”.
“By Christmas, if we don’t have [any setbacks] before that, then we’ll have a really strong squad.”
Tough test from Queen’s Park
The Rovers manager added that he will not be dipping into the loan market ahead of Friday’s deadline.
He may let one go out ahead of the trip to Ochilview to take on Owen Coyle’s Queen’s Park.
The Glasgow club are still awaiting the completion of their Lesser Hampden ground but it has not affected their form – winning five of their last six.
“They work very hard,” said Murray.
“They’ve had some great results, they’ve shown they’re competitors.
“It’ll be a really tough game for us.”
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