Raith Rovers boss John McGlynn: We want to be up there from the start

And the message from fans is clear – give us something to cheer after the frustration of recent campaigns.

A positive start is certainly required, particularly after a disappointing end to the Betfred Cup campaign which saw the Kirkcaldy side finish bottom of their group after a 3-0 defeat to Cove Rangers on Saturday.

The performance has dented optimism ahead of the league opener, but manager John McGlynn is hoping his players can prove it was a one-off.

“Like any defeat or bad performance you can’t just brush it under the carpet,” he said.

“You have to dissect it like we do, then there’s a point where you have to move on.

“I didn’t see it coming because, although it’s a new group, they’ve never shown up until then that they had the capabilities to play so badly.

“We have to take it on the chin, hope it’s a one-off, learn from it and move on.

“I make no bones about it, we were back early enough, we were prepared and looking to have a good League Cup campaign.

“It’s not worked out that way, so we learn from all experiences we’ve gained over the four games, and we go to Dumbarton on Saturday looking for the right reaction.

“This is now what it’s all about. We want to be up there right from the start, and to do that you need to be winning games, and that’s exactly what we intend to do.”

Jim Duffy’s Dumbarton have also endured a tough Betfred Cup campaign with heavy 4-1 and 6-1 defeats to Queen of the South and Morton respectively, but McGlynn expects a tough opener.

“Jim’s almost had to start from scratch again, and in doing so they’ve picked up one or two heavy defeats, but then they played Motherwell, who were very much in form, and kept it to 2-0 so he’s tried to tighten things up.

“Whether or not they try something similar against us, or think about the fact we’ve lost three and four goals and have a go at us, that remains to be seen.

“We’ve obviously got to look after ourselves, and that will be the main thing throughout the whole season.

“Last season we beat ourselves more often that not, so we’ve got to make sure we don’t fall into that trap.”

McGlynn is hoping to pick up as many points as possible in August before hopefully welcoming back forwards Lewis Vaughan and Tony Dingwall from long-term injury in September.

“These two guys will be like new signings,” he said. “From an attacking point of view, they can take us onto another level.

“There are five games in August which are going to be the foundation of our start, and hopefully we can pick up enough points to be in a good position in mid-September when these two guys will come back, giving everyone a boost and a lift to kick on.”

McGlynn is hoping the team can repay the travelling fans at Dumbarton on Saturday after letting them down last weekend.

“I’d like to thank the fans for coming all the way up to Aberdeen,” he said. “We’ll be looking to get a good start to the campaign and their support is very much appreciated.”

Rovers are hoping Iain Davidson and Brad Spencer will be available for selection as both missed training this week after coming off against Cove with niggling injuries.