'˜My best is yet to come at Raith,' says Gillespie

The 27-year-old midfielder is loving life in Kirkcaldy after signing for the club from Dundee United during the summer, but admits the Rovers faithful have still to see his play at his peak.

“I feel that I’ve settled in well,” he said.

“The gaffer and Cat [assistant manager Kevin Cuthbert] have been great with me.

“All the boys welcomed me in and I’m thoroughly enjoying it.

“If I’m being honest I don’t think I’ve reached my maximum yet in terms of performance. I’ve had a couple of reasonably good games but I think I can be more consistent.

“But I’ve loved my time here so far and long may it continue.”

Gillespie was in the thick of the action as Rovers pulled off the great escape in Saturday’s epic 4-3 win over Airdrie, a game he describes as “surreal”.

“During the game, the first half especially, we felt that we didn’t play anywhere near what we are capable of,” he said.

“At half time we spoke about it and we felt if we could step it up a bit and try and get back into it early on, then we could burst the game open.

“We managed to do that but then we went down to 10 men and they scored late on.

“To say I was deflated would be correct, but I don’t think it showed.

“We got one back, then after that it’s just a blur really.”

Gillespie says the team needs to build on that performance as they bid for promotion to the Championship.

“Those sort of games don’t come around to often so afterwards everyone was buzzing. I think though we have to look at it that we didn’t play well, but still managed to get the win.

“If we can play the way we are capable of this Saturday then there’s no reason why we can’t go out and have a comfortable game.

“The squad is getting there and I think it’s an important time of the season to kick on and hopefully put a good run of wins together.”

Forfar are Rovers’ visitors on Saturday and Gillespie said: “It’s going to be a tough game.

“They’ve got some good players but it’s all about what we can do, especially at home.

“It’s important to take belief from Saturday, scoring three goals in five minutes, and try and implement the good things that we can do from the start this time.”