Scott Brown has vowed to keep smiling as he bids to lead Raith Rovers out of a slump he says will show the squad’s ‘true colours’.
Brown insists he has not tried to do anything differently as captain during the current run of four straight defeats.
It is a sequence that has punctured the positivity of just last month when a win over title favourites Dundee United left the Stark’s Park side five points clear at the top of the Championship.
They are now a point adrift of the Tangerines, who they face next on league duty in a fortnight’s time.
However, before then, they have the chance to get back to winning ways when they host Airdrie in the SPFL Trust Trophy semi-final on Friday night.
It was a loss to the Diamonds last month that sparked Rovers’ current run, which has since featured defeats to Queen’s Park, Livingston and Inverness Caley Thistle.
But Brown is determined not to let the nosedive in results affect confidence as Raith seek the fillip of a victory ahead of the United league encounter.
He told Courier Sport: “It’s important you come in every day with a smile on your face and just keep going.
Positive
“I’m one of these people who tries to stay as positive as you possibly can.
“When it comes to training and after games and stuff, there’s no point in coming in and moaning.
“Once the game’s gone you can’t change it.
“So you need to stay as positive as you can and work as hard as you possibly can.
“Listen, I try to do that every day, regardless of whether we’re doing well or getting beat.
“It’s important just to keep everyone onside.
“It’s easy being a captain when everything’s going well and everyone’s sticking together.
“But when times start to get a wee bit tough that’s when you start to see everyone’s character, really.
“You probably see people’s true colours more when times are a wee bit tougher.
“It’s definitely a wee bit easier when things are going well and everything’s just rolling on to the next week, like we were doing at the start of the season.”
Two 1-0 defeats to Airdrie in Lanarkshire have sandwiched a 1-1 draw between the teams in Fife this season.
Cup final disappointment
It leaves the Diamonds as the only second-tier team Raith have failed to beat.
There is also the added determination of trying to make up for a surprise loss to Hamilton Accies in last season’s final of the Challenge Cup as they failed to make it three titles in a row.
Brown said: “Last year was really disappointing, that goes without saying. It was disappointing for everyone and for everyone’s families.
“Cup finals are different. Everyone’s families are there supporting and you want to go out and win it for them. They’re the people in the background who keep you going day to day.
“We’ve got the chance to right the wrongs a wee bit this season, but we can only do that if we win the trophy.
“There’s no point getting to a semi-final or final and losing again.”
The former St Johnstone midfielder added: “It’s a nice competition for us to be in. It’s a break from the league and it would be really exciting for the club for us to make the final again.
“The people who have come into the club deserve to have a wee bit of success and hopefully we can bring them that.
“We’re doing well in the league but it would be nice to get some silverware.
“Raith have got a good history with this trophy and it’s up to us players now to deliver it again.”
