Raith Rovers boss Ian Murray hoping to emulate Hamilton Accies by winning play-off final

For John Rankin’s South Lanarkshire outfit – who finished second in League One a distant 16 points behind runaway champions Falkirk – successfully saw off Duncan Ferguson’s Inverness Caledonian Thistle, who had come ninth in Scotland’s second tier, 5-3 on aggregate in the Championship play-off final last week.

Accies will now take their place in next season’s Championship, with Inverness demoted to League One.

Murray told the Fife Free Press: “I think it’s maybe just a wee bit different in terms of I think Hamilton were not playing a top league team.

"I did think Inverness over the two games would get through.

"But I also looked at Hamilton’s squad in the summer and I actually thought they were favourites for the league. It wasn’t to be the case.

"They have come through fantastically Hamilton, getting back into the league at the first attempt.

"I’m disappointed for Inverness but that’s football.

"When you go into these things there’s always going to be disappointments.”

In a big change for Murray’s team, VAR will be in operation for Raith’s two Premiership play-off final legs against Ross County at Stark’s Park for the first time tonight (Thursday) and in Dingwall on Sunday.

Head of referees Crawford Allan had a 45-minute conversation with the Rovers squad on Tuesday to explain its workings.

Murray added: "The chat with Crawford was really educational for us. It’s not as clear cut as I presumed.

“We’re not going to change our game plan or approach to how we compete in the game.

"We just maybe have to be a bit more careful. It’s not about being cute, it’s not about being sneaky, it’s about understanding the situation in maybe one v ones and making good decisions.

"That’s part of football.”