Raith boss Gary Locke is keeping his fingers crossed that international clearance finally comes through for new signing Jean-Yves M’Voto before his side kick off their competitive campaign against Cove Rangers in the Betfred Cup tomorrow night.
The big French centre-half, who started his career at Paris Saint-Germain and has also played for Barnsley, Oldham and Leyton Orient, joined Rovers last week.
He is someone Lokce has had his eye on for a while and he is delighted to have him on board after the player left Polish side WKS Zawisza Bydgoszcz SA.
And with centre-half Craig Barr set to miss the tie with Cove Rangers because of injury, the Stark’s boss is hoping all the red tape can be negotiated to allow M’Voto to play.
The manager said: “Mark Stewart and Chris Johnson are back training today which is good.
“Iain Davidson got a kick in the back against Partick so he missed the weekend’s game but he was training on Wednesday so he should be OK for Friday.
“Scotty Robertson is still a wee bit away and Craig Barr has a groin problem so it is a bit of a blow to lose those two.
“We are hoping Jean-Yves’ international clearance comes through. It is taking a bit of time and is getting held up by the Polish FA so hopefully they can do us a favour as it would be nice to get the big man involved.
“He is a wee bit behind as he has not done as much pre-season as the rest of the boys but I am pretty sure that once he gets fully fit, he will be a big asset for us.
“He is a player I have watched for a number of years.
“He played regularly for Barnsley and Oldham when they were in the English Championship so he has a good pedigree.
“So when he became available, especially at the money we can afford, it was a no-brainer for me to bring him in as I feel we need a presence at the back and he will certainly give us that.
“I am just hoping that Jean-Yves can come up here and do well.
“He gets a bit of stick from the boys about only being 27 as he certainly looks older than that but it is all good banter in the dressing-room and I feel that when he is fully up and running he will be a big player for the team.”
Locke, who is still working hard to bring other signing targets in to the club, admits his squad will have to be at the top of their game otherwise the tie with Highland League outfit Cove could prove to be a big banana skin.
He said: “I don’t read too much into friendlies but the real stuff begins on Friday so hopefully we can get off to a good start.
“All the pressure will be on us. Cove will go into the game quite relaxed.
“Darren (assistant Jackson) and I went to see them on Tuesday night against Forfar. They drew 3-3 and are a decent team.
“They have players such as Mitch Megginson and Stuart Duff in their squad and we will be treating them with the utmost respect. We know we are in for a tough game.
“You saw what happened with Celtic on Tuesday night, there are no easy games and if you are not at it, you will get beaten.
“We know it is a potential banana skin but if our attitude is spot on, we should go up there and get a favourable result.
“But if we don’t have the right attitude, then we could come unstuck.
“We have watched them and they definitely have players that can cause us problems.”
