On Friday, Raith Rovers have the chance to put pressure on league leaders Dundee United.
A win would reduce the gap at the top of the Scottish Championship to one point.
Expectations were raised when Rovers flew out of the blocks with just one defeat from their opening 19 league matches.
That has been tempered slightly by a recent run of three league defeats on the spin, as well as exiting two cup competitions.
What Raith have to their advantage is an abundance of experience of being in a title race.
Defender Keith Watson is one of those, having won the Championship with Ross County in 2019.
He told Courier Sport that a lot of work has gone into the last two weeks ahead of this weekend’s massive top-of-the-table clash versus his old side.
“Everybody has said their part, a lot of experienced ones have spoken up,” said Watson.
“We’ve got a lot of players in this league who have been there and done it. They know what it takes.
‘We’re still right up there’
“Having a lot of boys with that on their CV is good for the group.
“Despite our poor run, we’re actually still right up there, second in the league. We can’t forget that, we’ve worked hard to get there.
“It’s a little poor run we’re on at the minute, we’re hoping Friday is going to be the night we turn that round.”
Raith manager Ian Murray, himself involved in title races as a player and as a manager, has barely signed a player this season who lacks said experience.
That includes Josh Mullin, Watson’s County team-mate during 2018/19 and who had previously won back-to-back promotions with Livingston on their way to the Premiership.
It includes Euan Murray who won the Championship with Kilmarnock in 2022 when Jack Hamilton came oh so close with Arbroath.
Arguably Raith’s standout performer this season is Shaun Byrne who has won the Championship with two different clubs, as well as a third promotion via the play-offs, as well as winning League One with two different clubs.
And, last month, Zak Rudden was brought in nine months after helping Dundee to the Championship title.
Keith Watson: It’s just getting that first win
They will need every ounce of that experience if they are to snatch automatic promotion away from title favourites Dundee United.
“It’s just getting that first win again,” added Watson. “We’ve got a great bunch of boys in there and we just need to stick together, train and work hard every day.”
Friday night’s match is a massive opportunity to get things back on track and could go a long way to deciding who wins the Championship title this season.”
Manager Murray said that regardless of how the rest of the season turns out, Raith will have laid foundations to build on.
“I look around and think, what a great squad we’ve managed to assemble,” he said.
“No matter what happens this season, we’ve got ourselves platform for next season, regardless of what league we’re in.
“We’ve got some really good players, we’ve got good experience and we’ve got good youngsters.
“They’re getting loads of experience and it’s good for them as well to be in this situation. I know it’s it’s not ideal, losing games, but the adversity you face helps.
“It’s a long season and every team has to deal with it.”
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