Raith Rovers boss Barry Robson assesses injuries to Paul Hanlon, Liam Dick and Shaun Byrne

Robson, 46, initially saw experienced centre-back Paul Hanlon pull out of the Somerset Park clash after being injured in the warm-up.

Then, in the second half and with Raith still three goals down to a first half hat-trick by Ayr’s George Oakley, the Kirkcaldy side suffered two further injury blows as captain Liam Dick departed the field on 62 minutes before midfielder Shaun Byrne was stretchered off nine minutes later.

“We’re going to have to assess,” Robson told Raith TV post match. “I saw the injury list when I came in, then we lost Paul Hanlon right away, then we lost Liam Dick, then we lost Shaun Byrne. So it’s something we’ll have a look at.

"You can’t even start to get enjoyment because the game starts and you’re two goals down.

"Looking at the other players, I’ve still got to see injured ones, there are still a lot of players I’ve not seen, boys who would normally play.

"What you can’t forget is this season has been up and down.

"I’m just in the door but you see where we are in the league and you see the way it’s been.

"So let’s try and bring a bit of consistency to that.”

When asked to give a message to the 452 Raith fans who travelled to Ayr, as well as to the Stark’s Park fanbase in general, Robson – handed the manager’s job after previous incumbent Neill Collins resigned last month to join US outfit Sacramento Republic - added: “The supporters are the club. They are everything.

"That’s why I made all the players go over at the end and applaud them.

"To me that wasn’t a team that wasn’t working hard.

"They were trying, we just got excited, we made wrong decisions and it’s having that mentality to be better and try and manage the game better when you lose goals.

"And that’s something that I’ll try and help them with.”

Last weekend’s defeat leaves Raith sixth with 24 points from 19 matches ahead of this Saturday’s league trip to Greenock Morton which kicks off at 3pm.

Rovers are on their third gaffer of what has been an eventful 2024-25 campaign, which started with Ian Murray in charge of the pre-season bookies’ title favourites before he quickly lost his job following a 1-0 defeat at Airdrieonians on August 3.