Raith boss Grant Murray says he has been haunted by the ghosts of past glories for the club in the build-up to Sunday’s Ramsdens Cup final.
However, it is something that has not bothered him one little bit with the memories of the unforgettable Coca-Cola Cup victory over Celtic in 1994 and the subsequent European games against Bayern Munich still precious in the minds of everyone connected with the Kirkcaldy club.
Now though he has urged his players to make their own piece of history by beating Rangers against all the odds at Easter Road, the same venue where Rovers went toe to toe with the Bavarian giants all those years ago in the first leg of their tie.
He said: “It would be great and the players know that. They’ve been at the stadium and seen the photos up there from the game against Bayern Munich.
“They would love nothing more than a photo of themselves hanging up there. There’s nothing stopping us doing it but 11 Rangers players.
“I’ve seen a lot of the clips and photos from the Bayern game and heard the players at the Hall of Fame nights. It’s fantastic to listen to them.
“A club like Raith Rovers being involved in Europe against Bayern Munich and winning the Coca-Cola Cup against Celtic it’s great to hear these stories and listen to those players and then go back to my own players and say this time it could be you.”
Raith led 1-0 at half-time in the second leg against Bayern with the pictures of the scoreboard at the stadium at the break being kept as souvenirs.
When asked if people still show him their snaps, Murray replied: “Aye and it’s great! Clubs like Raith Rovers have to hang on to these memories. It’s fantastic for them. I want the players to win it for themselves.
“They’re in a final because they want to win a medal, but they’ve got to win it for the club, the fans and everyone in Kirkcaldy.
“It’s about getting the balance right not putting too much pressure on them but also letting them know how much they’ll be held high and go down in the record books if they go on and win this trophy.”
Murray has been keen to keep the build-up to the final as relaxed as possible and even gave the players some time off earlier this week to go clay-pigeon shooting.
He said: “I gave them the opportunity to do what they wanted but they were quite happy to keep things going the same.
“I was happy with that too. It’s a massive cup final against Rangers but the players just wanted to enjoy the week and try to stay as relaxed as possible.
“What I’ve got out of the players in one-off games this season has been fantastic so to get them to have that same belief again for this one is my job.
“We’ve got a good balance in the team of experience and youth. The training week has changed a bit because it’s a Sunday game but I’ve got a group of players who are very much tuned in.
“They realise how big a game this is for the club. We are the underdogs we understand that and will be well outnumbered at the stadium.
“We’re playing against a massive club in Rangers so we’re going to need to be at our best.
“They’ve not lost much this season but we’ll have our game plan. We’ve only really got David McGurn out injured, which is great it gives us a selection headache.”
Murray has had Rangers watched several times and has left no stone unturned in his quest for silverware, including having his players practise spot-kicks in the event of the dreaded penalty shoot-out.
He added: “It was just a wee change in training. There’s that possibility. I was at the Ramsdens final last year and it was a fantastic occasion that went all the way to penalties.
“If there’s a chance that could happen again why not practise them?
“Mind you, there will be 20,000 fans there and a different pressure. But if the players want to be comfortable with tucking the ball away we have to practise them.”