Raith Rovers: Manager Ian Murray says he and his players have been lifted by news of potential sale of club to Scottish consortium

Murray, whose side are currently seventh in the Scottish Championship with 29 points from 22 games, has had to contend with financial problems at Stark’s Park as current owner John Sim attempts to sell a club running up average losses of £150,000 per season.

But the former Hibs, Rangers and Norwich City player, 41, says he and his players have been boosted by the news that Sim is currently in negotiations with a Scottish-based consortium, with hopes that Raith could be sold by the end of March for around £3m.

“We’re obviously being kept informed about certain things and I try and relay to the players that this has been a really, really tough season for all involved,” Murray, appointed as Rovers manager last summer after leaving a similar role at League 1’s Airdrieonians, told the Fife Free Press.

“There’s been a lot going on, a lot of overhang from last season coming into this season, a lot of different aspects to put up with and it does affect players and it does affect staff – but we have a really good nucleus of a team there.

“Absolutely do I see Raith Rovers as a club with the potential to be a Premiership outfit.

“When I look around the league this season – and I don’t see it changing next season – I think there’s not just Raith, there’s a lot of teams could vouch for that.

“You’ve got Dundee, Inverness, Partick Thistle and Queen’s Park are making a heck of a run for it as well and Hamilton.

“I know Hamilton are down at the bottom but they’ve been in the premier league two years ago.

“The Championship is a really hard league.

“It's a league where if you take your eye off the ball a bit, you can actually find yourself in League 1 because it’s shown that that’s what the stats are saying.

“I think behind the scenes we are starting to get ourselves together a wee bit.

“Those are the foundations, if you like, and then we’ll get moving on the park.”

Raith return to league action at home to Inverness Caledonian Thistle this Saturday, with kick-off at 3pm.

The current Scottish Championship table has Rovers in seventh place with 29 points from 22 games, four points behind fourth-placed Partick Thistle, who have played a match fewer, and the final play-off spot.

Even if Raith don’t make the play-offs this season, Murray pointed out that, after taking over as Airdrieonians manager in October 2018, he didn’t reach the League 1 play-offs in his first year there but effectively did so in three straight seasons after that. After being denied a go in 2019-2020 due to coronavirus, Murray took Airdrie to the play-off finals of 2021 and 2022, losing to Greenock Morton and Queen’s Park respectively.

“I keep turning to the Raith players and telling them to look at our record,” Murray added.

“It wasn't all roses in the first season, certainly not. It was very, very difficult in the first and second seasons, but finally we managed to put the pieces together in the third season.

“Good things take a long time to build. I always feel as if I'm patronising people when I say it’s like building a house – if it’s built poorly, it’s going to fall.

“I'd be saying the same if we were sitting second top of the league, which we could be.

“In the first season at Airdrie, we missed out on the play-offs, and I had been very honest with the owner when I told him ‘we are not good enough for the play-offs. If we get there, fine’.

“We didn’t get there and we weren’t good enough because we needed to build.”