Raith Rovers boss Ian Murray finding it tough to pick his starting two strikers given high quality of Rudden, Vaughan, Hamilton and Smith

In sharp contrast to last season, when a much weaker group further depleted by injuries saw Raith Rovers at times only able to name two outfield substitutes, the current squad has an embarrassment of riches for manager Ian Murray to pick from.
Rudden after scoring in 2-1 win at Ayr on February 24 (Pic Dave Johnston)Rudden after scoring in 2-1 win at Ayr on February 24 (Pic Dave Johnston)
Rudden after scoring in 2-1 win at Ayr on February 24 (Pic Dave Johnston)

One part of the Stark’s Park revolution which perfectly illustrates this point is up front, where the recent loan acquistion of striker Zak Rudden from Scottish Premiership outfit Dundee sees the 24-year-old add a further option to a strikeforce also boasting the talents of Lewis Vaughan, Jack Hamilton and Callum Smith, feeding off chances created by the likes of Dylan Easton, Josh Mullin and Sam Stanton.

On the qualities of Rudden, Raith boss Ian Murray told the Fife Free Press: "Zak just brings different elements to the game. I know he's similar in terms of height to big Jack Hamilton.

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"Jack's more of a central number nine. I think Zak's got slightly better movement than Jack but Jack's better in the air. So they've got different dimensions to their game and you look at who we have in the forward areas, Callum Smith, Zak, Jack and Vaughny, I can only pick two out of four so it's very difficult.

"As tempting as it is to play Jack and Zak at times together, you have to remember what Lewis and Callum do as well, offering a different dynamic. So we have really, really good options at the moment and a really good squad as well, regardless of where we finish in the league.

"Hopefully we can cement this play-off position in the next few weeks. By saying that I mean mathematically, and it lets us really charge on for the last seven, eight, nine games."

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