Raith Rovers boss Dougie Imrie on how many Scottish Championship teams are still in relegation danger
Despite each team in the William Hill Championship having only four or five league matches remaining this season, Raith Rovers gaffer Dougie Imrie has stressed his belief that no-one in the bottom eight sides is yet safe from the drop.
Imrie – who led his fifth-placed side to a 4-1 victory over Inverness Caledonian Thistle in last Sunday’s KDM Evolution Trophy final at Firhill – is now readying his troops for a crucial week of league action which sees them host Greenock Morton tomorrow before a trip to Queen’s Park on Tuesday night and an away test against Arbroath next Saturday.
He told the Fife Free Press: “If we don't win (against Morton) there's nobody safe. None of the teams below the top three are safe, apart from Dunfermline (who are fourth, 10 points ahead of Raith).
"There's a long way to go. We’ve got five games to play, other teams have got four. This week we've got three games in a week. That will tell us more.
"If you look at the table, I know Ross County (the bottom club) have a game tonight (at Queen’s Park). “If they win that, they shut the gap back to five points.
"We just need to see out the season the best we can. If we can, win against Morton and then move on to Tuesday then Saturday, take it game by game.
"When you start looking too far ahead, you start to get egg in your face. I've always been the same as a manager.
"Never look too far, never look too low. The next game is always the most important game. That's tomorrow. I would imagine if either team wins, then they'll be okay.”
Imrie, who has 14 Raith players including loanees who are out of contract at the end of this season, also said that talks over new deals will only begin when the league season is finished and Rovers know what league they’ll be playing in next season.
He said: “I know every player's strength and weakness. I've got a certain way I want to play.
"I think the last three or four weeks has shown that they're starting to tune into what I want to do.
"There's people who have surprised me in the last two or three weeks. Not that I didn't know they were good players anyway, (5:44) but I think with the way they were playing previously I came in, isn't the way they're playing now.
"Trying to change that style of play took a bit longer than we wanted to. I certainly think in the last month, you're starting to see a team now with confidence and we're picking up wins, so that's the most important thing.”
Defender Jordan Doherty (hamstring) and attacker Andy Winter (back) have both recovered from injury and are in the squad to face Morton. But defender Paul Hanlon is expected to be out for a further week.