Raith Rovers' Darragh O'Connor is impressing boss Barry Robson
Having previously remained on the Raith Rovers bench for seven straight matches, Irish defender Darragh O’Connor has forced his way into the team for recent fixtures.
And, while acknowledging that the 26-year-old stopper – on loan from York City until the end of the season – has done well since getting into the side, Raith manager Barry Robson also lauded the former Greenock Morton and Falkirk (loan) player’s prior experience at William Hill Championship level.
Robson said: “Darragh has been biding his time. I get frustrated having to keep talking about players like Jack (Hamilton), Vaughany (Lewis Vaughan), Smithy (Callum Smith), Darragh and other players that we've had injured.
"I would just like them all to be in top shape and fit. It's the questions I get asked all the time about them.
"But Darragh looks strong and we've worked a lot with him. I think, as everybody can see, he's a good size. He's a man. He's quicker than what you think as well.
"He knows the division well. He played quite a lot down at Morton, didn't he? He's got that experience in the Championship football and what it takes. That helps at this level.
"We work really hard as a group and we've got a real good set of boys in there. You can see it in the games. You can see that they're really working.
"Even if I look at Liverpool, they lost four in a row. It is also difficult to win games in our division, but we've proved that we can do it. Our focus is on just doing the basics well, keep working and try to enjoy playing football. When you do that, you can win games.”