Ian Murray: Raith Rovers actually exceeded expectations last season despite finishing seventh

Murray, who has led Raith to a Scottish Championship runners-up finish this term having ended seventh last season, told the Fife Free Press: "I think our squad is better. I think when you look around we've got experience of Premier League players who've played quite a lot of games in the Premier League, good quality as well, we recruited really well in the summer.

"We had some good players last season but we needed to freshen it up.

"That's not to say these lads weren't good players, we just felt we could possibly recruit just that wee bit better and try and get a bit more experience as well. So all that's been pretty good in terms of squad depth.

"Last season's situation didn't really get to me. I kind of knew where we were and the people around me knew where we were.

"It was very difficult. I remember against Ayr United I think we had two subs - one goalkeeper, one outfield player, and a couple of times at home.

"So I always felt we kind of punched above our weight last season at times.

"And I know for some people they won't agree with it. But I knew at the start of last season it was going to be very, very difficult for us and I made that very clear to the board, that this was not a squad that was going to be good enough to be where we thought we should be.

"And then if you add in all the injuries that we had, it made life very difficult.

"So I think the boys actually did remarkably well to finish where they were, get to the SPFL Trust Trophy final and the Scottish Cup quarter-final. So they probably exceeded expectations to be honest.”

When asked if having such greater depth this season meant that bringing on five substitutes per match was a deliberate policy, Murray replied: "No. We don't set out to say: 'We must make five subs'.

"We try to bring energy, tempo and intensity to the game and see how the game's going.

"It's a fantastic thing to have as a manager. There's going to be boys left out, of course there is.

"But overall we've got such good quality that whatever we decide to do with the starting 11 or bringing boys on, we're really comfortable.

"We'd rather be in this position - that's for sure - than the position I was in last season."