Raith Rovers' Dougie Imrie: 'It's disrespectful to say table-topping Stenny's amazing start is a flash in the pan
A hugely interested spectator at Tuesday night’s top-of-the-table William Hill Championship clash between Stenhousemuir and Partick Thistle was Raith Rovers manager Dougie Imrie.
Imrie, 43, watched at Ochilview Stadium as the hosts – managed by his good pal Marvin Bartley who is assisted by Neil Hastings – beat Thistle 1-0 thanks to Hamzad Kargbo’s late headed goal.
In what has developed into a major story in Scottish football, the part-time Warriors are unbeaten on 16 points from six matches, three points ahead of second-placed Raith and five ahead of Partick in third.
When asked if he thinks that Stenny’s magnificent start to the campaign could be ‘a flash in the pan’, Rovers gaffer Imrie told the Fife Free Press: “No, I think that's a little bit disrespectful to Marv and Neily.
"I think they've done a terrific job. They took over a job where Gary Naysmith had done a terrific job for Stenny.
"It's always going to be difficult for them to go in and emulate that. A lot of players have left, better players have left and they've built a new team.
"Also they've kept the nucleus of the group that were there but had to bring in their own players.
"Like I say, myself and Marv are close out of football but I think he's done a terrific job. I think you can see that with the results.
"They did suffer a sore one against Hearts (a 3-0 home Premier Sports Cup quarter-final loss) but you would expect that against a really good Hearts team who are playing in the Premier League with the players that they've got and the budget and stuff. I don't think Stenny were disgraced.
"I just think in the end, Hearts’ quality outshone them on the night.
"I don’t think you can take anything away from Stenny. They've done amazing in the first five or six games of the season.”
Ahead of Raith’s visit to Thistle this Saturday, Imrie added: “It's not easy in this division, every game is different.
"Saturday will be tough, the week after that will be tough, the week after that will be tough. It's just about trying to keep the players focused, keep that mentality, keep the desire, keep the work-rate and keep playing game by game.”