Lewis Vaughan relived to get on the scoresheet for Raith Rovers after being a ‘wee bit hard’ on himself

Before last weekend it had been 17 months since Lewis Vaughan scored for Raith Rovers.

A double in the remarkable 4-4 draw with Hamilton in July last year were his last goals for the club before his equaliser versus Morton in last weekend’s SPFL Trust Trophy tie.

That was his fourth start since his return from his fourth ACL injury.

Earlier in the week his teammate Liam Dick said that the forward had been starting to put a bit of pressure on himself.

It certainly wasn’t coming from the Raith management, his fellow players or from the stands.

‘Everything takes time’

“I’m a wee bit hard on myself sometimes,” said Vaughan. “It’s just my standards, I want to keep a high standard.

“Sometimes I expect to be back to where I was before I got injured, but everything takes time.

“That’s the first one out the way, hopefully there’s a lot more to come.

Vaughan’s goal v Morton:

“But as long as we win and I can help the team to get three points, I’m happy.”

Arbroath at Stark’s Park are up next for Rovers and Dick Campbell’s will be looking to bounce back after a disappointing exit in the SPFL Trust Trophy last week.

Vaughan will be in contention to start once again and is continuing with a bespoke training schedule – including rehab sessions – to manage his fitness.

“I’m still watching my load,” he said. “If I play on the Saturday I just train twice/three times a week max.

“I get my two rehab sessions in during the week in the gym to keep my legs strong.

“I’ll probably be doing that for the next wee while, probably most of my future will be watching how much I train and trying to be sensible during the week so that I’m able and fit and ready for the weekend.”

More pressure

Arbroath sit second bottom of the Championship after struggling to repeat last season’s unbelievable campaign.

Vaughan said that while the pressure may be off him in terms of getting his first goal of the season, there is now an expectation for Rovers to get back to winning ways in the league.

Ian Murray’s side have lost their last three matches in the Scottish Championship.

“You know with Arbroath you are going to be in a fight and a battle,” said Vaughan.

“They’ve got a good squad, they’ve got good players, but we need to get back to winning ways in the league.

“There’s maybe a bit of pressure for us to get a result on Saturday.”