Raith midfielder Martin Scott says his side are confident of taking something from Easter Road this afternoon even though he reckons Hibs are very much on the rise.
The 28-year-old returns to his old stamping ground with a Rovers team that have now gone four games unbeaten, and the Kirkcaldy club could well force their way back into the promotion picture if they continue their recent form.
A victory over third-placed Hibs would certainly be seen as a statement of intent, although Scott freely admits taking three points back to Kirkcaldy will be far from straight-forward.
“I think coming down to this division and totally rebuilding has probably helped Hibs, and I think they’ve got it right now,” he commented.
“I’ve said before that I still speak to some of the boys who were there and they are moving in the right direction now.
“And probably for the first time in a long time the supporters and people around the club will be happy with what’s happening on the pitch and off it.
“I think one thing they are doing is trying to play football in the right manner and they’ve got some decent players throughout the team.
“They are spreading the goals throughout the team as well so we know it’ll be a difficult game.
“They are probably the in-form team in the league at the minute, they are playing some nice stuff.
“From our point of view, I think we’re just looking to build on every game.
“We were a wee bit disappointed after Saturday, even though it was probably a good away point because Alloa is a difficult place to go.
“But it just shows you how far we’ve come in the last few weeks, that we’re disappointed not to get a result away from home.
“This weekend’s game against Hibs is like every game at the moment we’re looking to try and build on what we’ve done in previous weeks.”
Scott has been happy to see Rovers continue their recent revival, although he believes they need to start taking more points from their fellow promotion rivals to stand a chance of getting into the mix.
“We wanted to go on a run and we’ve managed to do that,” he continued.
“I think everybody always thought we were capable of going on an unbeaten run, and we’ve got a decent squad on paper.
“In patches of the games we’ve actually played some realty good stuff and I think people are starting to take notice of that now.
“Obviously if we can get a bit of consistency in the way we’re playing, in games like the one against Hibs on Saturday we’ve got to try and get something from the game.
“We want to continue trying to build on our run, although we know it’s going to be tough against Hibs because they are on a decent run themselves.”
Rovers have run Hibs close in their two encounters so far this season, taking a point from their last visit to Easter Road before losing 3-1 at home in December.
Scott added: “When we played them at Stark’s I felt we were on top for the majority of the game, but if we can be clinical then I think we’ve got a good chance in the game.
“When we were on top at Stark’s, I just felt we needed to get the next goal and unfortunately we didn’t, they did, the game opened up and they ended up killing the game off.
“In this division, that can happen and the first goal is always important.
“Bouncing back is always important and I think we’ve got enough character to do that if that happens, but we’re under no illusions that Hibs are a decent force and they are getting stronger every week.
“I think at Easter Road we showed we are not afraid to go there with a gameplan and stick to it.
“We were probably unfortunate in that game not take three points, but we know they are a good side and we’ve got to show them some respect.”
Former Hearts striker Christian Nade, who understandably made a meal of his celebration when he scored Raith’s equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Easter Road on October 4, could well be handed a start with forward Calum Elliot out injured.