Raith’s Scott Robertson hopes to be flying high on Helicopter Saturday a year on from one of the worst moments of his football career left him feeling at “Ground Zero”.
Rovers are just 90 minutes away from going back up to the Championship at the first time of asking, knowing that a win over Alloa at Stark’s Park this afternoon will see them crowned League 1 champions no matter what season-long challengers Ayr do in their game against Albion Rovers.
Excitement is at fever pitch in Kirkcaldy which is in sharp contrast to last season when Rovers were relegated after losing their play-off to part-time Brechin City.
It all came down to a nerve-shredding penalty shoot-out in the second leg with Robertson, who had not played all season because of injury, missing his side’s last spot-kick with Brechin’s Andy Jackson converting his to secure promotion for the Angus side.
Now, former Scotland, Dundee United and Hibs midfielder Robertson is just delighted that redemption is within his side’s grasp however he is fully aware that Alloa will present a formidable obstacle.
The 33-year-old said: “For me personally, I kicked the last ball for Raith Rovers last season with the penalty miss.
“So it probably took me until I was back in here getting my contract signed to actually get over the emotional side-effects.
“I won’t go too far into it but it really got me down that we got the club relegated the way we did.
“Going through the season we certainly didn’t expect that to happen.
“We then went into the play-offs and didn’t expect that to happen so it just keeps kicking you further and further down.
“When it happens, you are just at Ground Zero – you can’t get any lower than that.
“So to get back in, amongst the boys again and to sign my contract . . . and the manager from the start of the season has generated positivity about the whole club.
“That’s what it was all about and it has got us to this point now where we just need to cross the finishing line.
“I am not saying it is going to be easy – far from it.
“Ayr have shown just how difficult it can be to get over that finishing line.
“So it is down to us now to take care of business.”
Opportunity knocks for Raith just two weeks after it looked like they had lost the chance of automatic promotion with Ayr establishing a five-point lead.
However, the Honest Men lost against Stranraer and again last Sunday at Alloa, 24 hours after Raith had taken care of business with a win at Stair Park.
Ayr’s game at the Indodrill was live on BBC Alba but Robertson admitted he just couldn’t face tuning in.
Robertson said: “I didn’t watch the Ayr game on Sunday.
“I think I would have had some sort of heart attack if I had especially after checking how the scoring had gone and their missed penalty.
“I don’t think I could have put myself though that emotional rollercoaster.
“Obviously, I found out the result and it was the one we were hoping for given the position we found ourselves in after our game on Saturday.
“We now have a fantastic opportunity this weekend but that’s all it is.
“It is an opportunity that two weeks ago didn’t look likely but we now need to grasp it.
“We never gave it up. We have had to rely on Ayr dropping points but even after the Arbroath game when we found ourselves five points behind, the realistic scenario was that we would be in the play-offs.
“But mathematically it wasn’t over and that has proved to be the case.
“We are certainly not getting carried away saying we have a chance, we have a home game and we will be champions. That’s not the case at all.
“It is a really tough game – the team we are playing has just beaten Ayr.”
He added: “We just have to focus on doing the same sort of things we have been doing all season.
“The right result on Saturday is a victory and we just have to concentrate on that.
“Given the opportunity that we have been presented with, I’d like to think that some fans who maybe haven’t been along this season, would like to come to the game and support us.
“The more the merrier and it is great to have that vocal backing.
“The fans who have been turning up have been great all season.”
