'Livelihoods are at stake without improvement', warns Raith Rovers boss Dougie Imrie
Raith Rovers boss Dougie Imrie has warned his players that they could cost club employees their livelihoods if they don’t arrest a worrying recent run which has seen them fail to win any of their last four William Hill Championship matches.
Saturday’s 2-0 league loss at Ross County means sixth-placed Raith are just four points clear of the bottom-placed Staggies having played one more game and Imrie pulled no punches when speaking after his side’s latest disappointment in the Highlands.
“I’m more angry than frustrated,” he told Raith TV. “We huffed and puffed at times, some good passages of play but our final ball into the box wasn’t anywhere near good enough either.
"You can’t give teams two goals of a start in this league.
"But if the group don’t understand where they are then they’re in trouble because we need to start winning games, that’s quite evident.
"The games are running out or we could find ourselves in deep trouble.
"It’s a dogfight for everyone. Ross County have closed the gap. We’ve put ourselves more into the quagmire along with everyone else.
"If the players don’t understand what’s at stake for everybody else associated with the club, within the club who could potentially lose their livelihoods because – I hope it doesn’t come – because of relegation.
"There’s no point sugar coating that but it’s a fine line because you have to win games.
"It’s up to them now. Myself and the staff will push and push and push but the performances have to come on the pitch and they’ve shown that they can do it.
"We certainly are at a crossroads and I don’t know why because we had a fantastic result last Wednesday to get to a national cup final. We should have grown in confidence from that.
"Two clean sheets from our last three but we just looked weak from any ball into our box and that hurts me. The clean sheet record is amazing this season but it just wasn’t there today.
"They can use the excuse about three games in a week but there is no excuse from me. You have to be ready, you need to go, find that will within you to go again and play through the pain. Some fell way below their standards.”
Raith Rovers’ league position could get worse tomorrow (Tuesday) as two Championship games see Dunfermline Athletic host Ross County and Arbroath entertain Ayr United.
Rovers next play in an away league game against Dunfermline on Saturday, March 14 in a 3pm kick-off.